Five panoramic photographs and a large-scale video work by multidisciplinary artist Stan Douglas take over the new wing of De Pont museum with image and sound. This ambitious ensemble was presented at the Venice Biennale in 2022 and is now on show at De Pont.
In the oeuvre of Canadian artist Stan Douglas (1960), fact and fiction and history and current affairs subtly intermingle. In the 2011 ≠ 1848 exhibition, he explores the similarities and differences between the worldwide social unrest of 2011 and the European uprisings of 1848. With overwhelming panoramic photographs and an immersive jam session, he reflects on the logic behind resistance.
The hyper-detailed panoramic photographs show crucial moments during the Arab Spring in Tunis, the occupation of Wall Street in New York, the London Riots and the Stanley Cup riots in Vancouver. They range from an aerial shot of a neighbourhood to details of a specific riot. As if the artist saw the event coming each time and stopped the moment. But each image is a meticulous reconstruction. Also in the immersive video installation ISDN (2022), Douglas turns reality to his will. He suggests a rap battle between two street rap scenes in London and Cairo that seem to communicate with each other over 5,000 kilometres. In 2011, according to Douglas, this music formed the soundtrack of youthful resistance. But no matter how energetic that battle splashes off the screens, in reality this confrontation never took place.