Adel Abidin: Plan B

Video/sound installation

Plan B discusses visually the idea of obstacles and dangerous paths that we might choose to take. Harsh and rough places that we encounter in life. I believe there is always another path we can take. I chose to change the harsh and unforgiving environment of a sawmill, where the ground is littered with the debris of a factory, symbol- izing the obstacles we face in life by covering it with mattresses, which one associates with home, love, and intimacy. My plan B is a trajectory around these dangerous objects.

The large-scale video is projected on the front wall of the gallery room filled with many mattresses of different forms and colors placed side-by-side on the floor. The mattresses are interspersed with the empty contours of the elements found in the video, like a snaking piece of cable, a wheelbarrow, or wooden plank. The harshness of the sawmill, with its machinery, objects made of wood and metal, and aggressive operations like cutting, sawing and electrocuting are juxtaposed with the softness and familiarity of mattresses and the emptiness of the contours.

The viewer is invited to walk on the unstable ground that replicating the location where the video was shot. Trying to find his/hers balance while witnessing my act in creating the soft ground.

Details:

Duration: 00'14'23 min. (loop)