Presentation:

Biotalk: Collectors and Gatherers

Biotalk 23 - with Xandra van der Eijk, Pavèl van Houten and Arjanne Bode

17 Nov 2016

This edition of Biotalk we will take the position of the artist as gatherer. The modern day bio-scavenger who conduct his research onsite and meticulously browses his environment for unique properties and versatility. What can be found in the cracks of old Amsterdam buildings, the volcanic areas in Iceland or on board of an industrial fishing ship? And how to re-contextualise the often overlooked attributes of dust particles, extremophiles or by-catch?

Tickets / Facebook / Part of the We Are Public Selection**

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Mining Salt - Xandra van der Eijk looks into the color changing abilities of some extremophile bacteria. Xandra van der Eijk

Pavèl van Houten

Artist Pavèl van Houten sees value in non valuable things. Like dust for instance. Dust can be seen as a physical reminder of everything that has ever happened at a specific location. In order to honour the hidden potential of this worthless substance, Pavel decided to highlight the local dusts of Amsterdam in his installation Stofpluizen. After careful browsing and collecting the dust was sent to a laboratory and examined for its composition. The results can be seen from 17 - 24 October at Mediamatic ETEN.

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Pavel van Houten explaining the contents f the dust he collects - Anisa Xhomaqi

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Dust Particle, found at Mediamatic Biotoop - This microscopic image of ad dust particle is part of the exhibition: Stofpluizen. Where artist Pavèl van Houten highlights the non-valuable but beautiful dust particles from different locations in Amsterdam. Pavèl van Houten

Xandra van der Eijk

Xandra van der Eijk investigates natural processes and elements, where the concept of time is a recurring theme. For her current project she studied extreme environments in Iceland and France. With a specific interest in the coloring proporties of living matter. She is now developing an installation featuring color changing microbes.

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Xandra Van Der Eijk at Biotalk - Xandra van der Eijk presenting her installation featuring color changing microbes. Anisa Xhomaqi

Arjanne Bode

Since January 1, 2016, Dutch fishermen are forced to bring all catch - by-catch included - to shore, in stead of trowing it back into sea. This European law should encourage a more sustaintable and selectie fishing industry, but is counterproductive. If they don’t innovate in the fishing techniques, huge amounts of young, undersized fish will be brought to shore dead, without a financial valuable market. This doesn’t only effect the ecosysteem, but also the fishery industry itself, that puts his own future at stage.

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Arjanne Bode working on 'als een vis op het droge' - Als een vis op het droge uses by-catch in order to point out the counterproductive effects of the new 'aanlandplicht', a low that forces fisher man to now bring their by-catch to land. Arjanne Bode

With: Arjanne Bode

‘Als een vis op het droge' is a collection and representation of Arjanne Bode’s investigation into this law. In the installation and video, different contradictions within this topic are discussed.

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Arjanne Bode talking about the story behind her installation "als een vis op het droge" - Anisa Xhomaqi

With: Arjanne Bode

Information
Biotalk: Collectors and Gatherers
Thursday 17 November, 20:00
Mediamatic Biotoop, Dijspark 6, Amsterdam

Tickets: Students €5,- / Pre-sale €7,50 / Door €10,-
Part of the We Are Public Selection.
Please note: this event is given in English.