Theme ‘Operating System Error’

It increasingly feels as though the social, economic, and political systems around us are failing. Like a computer operating system missing pieces of code, resulting in a fatal underlying error. How do we deal with this on both an individual and collective level? Do we try to keep old systems afloat, or should we build new ones? What does a good system actually look like? And what do we do in the meantime?

Under the title ‘Operating System Error’, Kunstenlab has added an art program to the festival this year in collaboration with Het Systeem. Through the work of three contemporary artists on the site, we explore the problems and feelings caused by the malfunctioning systems upon which our society is built. In doing so, contemporary issues are reduced to the escape attempt that festivals often represent. In this way, we aim to explore the openness and collective experience of the festival as a driver of societal change.

Do you want to join the conversation? Then leave a message via the red telephone that Nieuw LABel, the youth team of Kunstenlab, has placed on the grounds.

'Sirene', Bouke Groen

For the sound installation 'Sirene', artist Bouke Groen has encased an alarm siren in multiple glass cubes. Through this intervention, the sound level of the warning signal—which is normally far too high to get close to—is muffled to such an extent that you only hear it when standing close by. You can hear that something is wrong with the siren: the tone of the wailing shifts at fixed intervals.

'Sirene' is an abstract and ambiguous representation of unrest and threat. We associate the sound with war, and the old siren the artist has chosen refers to how our associations with it are connected to history. The glass casing not only protects us from the object's influence, but the object, conversely, also protects us from it. The work speaks to our need to silence the alarm bells ringing in the world. At the same time, the work also shows that the lurking sense of threat can never be completely kept out, because the siren remains visible through the glass, even when it is inaudible. As soon as you enter the grounds of Het Systeem, you encounter the work, and due to the raised ground on which it stands, it is visible as a beacon from various vantage points. Visitors seeking out the festival to briefly escape the alarm bells ringing in the world are thereby immediately confronted with their escapist tendencies.

Bouke Groen's work is an investigation into the relationships we form with the physical or social environment around us. In doing so, he attempts to reveal the expectations and behavioral patterns that usually occur unconsciously. Through the wonder and thoughtfulness this prompts, Bouke Groen aims to contribute to personal and societal growth.

'Sight of Solitude', Ellis Holman

Ellis Holman's kinetic installation Sight of Solitude explores our modern perception of loneliness. The work creates dense banks of fog between visitors, symbolizing the social disconnection the artist increasingly observes in society. The installation is interactive: when visitors on either side of the work actively seek contact with one another, the airflow increases, causing the fog to dissipate more quickly.

The work originated during a period in the mountains, where the artist became fascinated by how rapidly changing cloud formations could suddenly make vast landscapes disappear. As if the world ceased to exist for a moment. She noticed that in that isolation, she felt less alone than she sometimes had among people. Sight of Solitude is about that disconnection from the world around you, and the difference between being alone and feeling alone. The interplay between the two reflects the importance of human connection and emphasizes that the quality of our interactions, rather than the quantity of people around us, defines meaningful connections. Our social structure seems to be faltering: fleeting contact appears to be becoming the norm, causing us to find less and less genuine connection with one another. The bank of mist that Ellis Holman creates among visitors with her work reflects this disconnection, but presents it as a choice. You can let the mist linger and consciously choose isolation and quiet, or you can—if you actively try—make the mist disappear together and enable meaningful contact. The installation is situated in a spot where visitors can gather around it during the festival, like a kind of contemporary campfire, to make that choice.

In her work, Holman explores the complexity of human emotions, inspired by the landscapes around her. She describes her work as a response to the acceleration in society. She works with themes that are a consequence of this, such as escapism, loneliness, and a fragmented perception of the world around us.

'The Archive of Spatial Knowledge', Irakli Sabekia

The Archive of Spatial Knowledge is a digital platform and a spatial installation by artist Irakli Sabekia. With his project, he addresses issues surrounding spatial justice. He does this by developing an archive in which the stories of people who have been forcibly displaced can be collected. Via a website and a mobile application (Space Reader), contributors can link their written memories to the coordinates of their former living environment. This creates a map that preserves the social memory that an oppressive party has attempted to erase.

The spatial installation on display here is a physical presentation of the archive. It features three barricade structures familiar from war zones. Nine stories collected and preserved through the archive are displayed on these structures like a ticker tape. Each line of text represents one person and their memory. The stories you read relate to the Georgian territories under Russian occupation. When the army invaded, residents were forced to flee their homes, and subsequently, entire villages were wiped from the landscape. The Archive of Spatial Knowledge draws attention to the human impact of geopolitical shifts. At the same time, it also erects a symbolic barricade against oppressive systems by demonstrating that people's stories cannot simply be erased.

Irakli Sabekia is an artist, designer, and researcher from Georgia. In his work, he explores the friction that arises between humans and the system. By providing visitors with a specific experience, he enables a layered understanding of the issues he addresses. In this way, his work creates space for dialogue on complex subjects.

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‘Operating System Error’ is made possible in part by the Mondriaan Fund, the Madeleine Fund (via Ars Donandi), and the Wesselings van Breemen Foundation.