This summer, Dat Bolwerck in Zutphen presents the duo exhibition Folding Ambivalence, featuring a selection of works by Zeno van den Broek. The exhibition delves into the relationship between humans and constructed environments, with the centerpiece being the 2022 installation Forming Folds, commissioned, co-produced, and distributed by LI-MA.

The opening event on 6 July will feature a special live performance by HIIIT (formerly known as Slagwerk Den Haag), showcasing Zeno van den Broek’s composition MA(N|CHINE).

Also this summer, Zeno van den Broek's work Paranon (2018) will be part of a screening at art space Sickhouse, an old farm house in the backyard of Rijksmuseum Twenthe. For more information about the artists, his works and the exhibitions, visit our website.

About the works

Forming Folds (2022, loop) is an audiovisual installation focused on researching and expressing the relation between the digital and our spatial perception: the digital layer of visible and invisible mechanisms strongly influences our daily perception of time and space. As a result, the digital allows us to expand our perception and knowledge far beyond the human, towards a new form of posthuman sensibility in which space and time collapse.

From Voice to Pulse (2022, 10 min) is an audiovisual work revolving around the relation and tension between the human and the digital. The piece takes form in an algorithmic composition for percussion, performed by custom robotics, and for voice, performed by a human. The visuals are inspired by the weaving loom and self playing musical instruments such as the Componium, bridging the physical and the digital. The text performed by Gagi Petrovic is written by the GPT-2 open-source artificial intelligence. This AI was trained on 'Species of Spaces' by Georges Perec and various Wikipedia pages on spatial perception, which resulted in new uncanny perspectives on the relation between people and the (digital) spaces they occupy.

Paranon (2018, 15 min) revolves around the idea of juxtapositioning fundamental elements of sound and image. This process is executed by manipulating various parameters in canon structures: the canon is a counterpoint-based compositional technique that creates one or more imitations of a movement after a given duration. The custom programmed sine wave generators Zeno van den Broek uses for the sound on Paranon make it possible to manipulate parameters such interference and phase shifting with great precision. These sine waves find their visual companion in lines, grids and cubes of which parameters such as distance and rotation slowly develop. The method of the canon creates tension and unexpected, yet cherished, results between the initial element and the imitations that follow. Van den Broek is fascinated by how the interference that occurs in image and sound manipulate our senses and perception of spatiality in the flat surface of the screen in relation to the sound waves that occupy the space.

About Zeno van den Broek

Zeno van den Broek is a composer and artist. Van den Broek uses audiovisual means to create site- and concept-specific works that question conventional conceptions of our experience of space. These works create visceral experiences that force new perspectives on the spaces they occupy or represent, whether those spaces are physical or digital. In doing so, he forces moments of disruption and friction that activate our sense of choice and yank us out of our habitual perception of space toward exploration and inquiry. These moments of choice allow visitors to become active participants in Van den Broek's work and complete it in important ways. On view is a selection of Van den Broek's audiovisual installations aimed at exploring the relationship between the digital realm and our spatial perception.

Since 2017, LI-MA distributes Zeno van den Broek's video art works and the installation Forming Folds. The latter was commissioned and coproduced by LI-MA.

About Folding Ambivalence

Folding Ambivalence, featuring works by Zeno van den Broek and Pauline Nijenhuis, invites visitors to reflect on their relationship with the digital world. The exhibition juxtaposes Nijenhuis' analog woven works with Van den Broek's digital creations, prompting contemplation of how screens influence our physical presence and vulnerability in a digitally dominated environment. Visitors can navigate between these analog and digital realms, appreciating the aesthetic and conceptual interplay centered on the beauty of the glitch. 

Special Events:

• Opening Performance: on 6 July, following the exhibition opening a special live performance of MA(N|CHINE) by Zeno van den Broek & HIIIT (formerly Slagwerk Den Haag) will take place at the Buitensociëteit. Tickets are available via honzehof.nl.
• Additionally: throughout the exhibition, visitors can also engage with Raumklang, a collaborative work by Zeno van den Broek and artist Robin Koek.

Exhibition Details:

• Location: Dat Bolwerck, Zutphen
• Dates: 6 July to 1 September, 2024
• Opening hours and address: check https://www.datbolwerck.nl/agenda/folding-ambivalence
• Admission: free

Header & thumbnail image: Forming Folds - Zeno van den Broek | Clip by Tanja Busking, 2023