Sarah van Sonsbeeck

Sarah van Sonsbeeck.com

Metropolis M: 'Starry, Starry night. De nacht van Duivenvoorde' (30/06/2010) by Alexander Mayhew

"Of a more subtle theatricality was Silent Guard by Sarah van Sonsbeeck, a new work meaning to give the former owners of the estate a place in the exhibition. Van Sonsbeeck found on days the castle is open to public, the family still living in the left wing, can be seen drinking coffee behind a red rope with the sigh ‘private’. During the ‘Night of Duivenvoorde Van Sonsbeeck wanted to give them back some place of their own. By means of a similar red cord she marked a square partition of the grass in front of the castle. In the middle of this square she placed a sign saying ‘No entry’. For security reasons a museum attendant sat on a chair next to the work, the ‘Silent Guard’. He was however anything but silent, gladly answering questions of visitors and shedding a light on the work and its background from his very private point of view. Entry to the piece of land remained however forbidden. The attendant aside, Van Sonsbeecks work proffered a very minimalistic monument to the family of the castle, forced to share the space with the public. … Most works of were mainly powerful in the moment and context of this one night. The exception being Van Sonsbeecks piece that might well manifest itself on other locations as a monument to the disregarded."