Home is where the art is with Peach’s month-long programme at Amsterdam’s W139

More than just an exhibition, Rotterdam’s Peach temporarily relocated to Amsterdam to present a month-long programme reflecting on the ecosystem that has been building in the port city they call home. In doing so, the collective that was established in 2015 by Ghislain Amar and Anna Maria Łuczak brought together works by people who have previously played a part in creating said community to artist-run space W139. They hosted an exhibition in four parts over the course of one month from November 19 until December 18, 2016. 

Peach briefly moved out of their three-storey apartment in Rotterdam to invite artists Sabrina Chou and Hunter Longe to help run the self-described “explosion of the domestic” in Amsterdam, where they recreated it as a surrogate to build on the intimacy and familiarity felt within the space of an abode.

Below is a breakdown of the four parts (but perhaps five if you count ‘Part 0’) and some of the artists that stood out in the show:

Part 0 – The Apartment (Nov 9 – Dec 18 )

The temporary apartment relocation began with an opening to showcase the newly built space: walls and a door similar to the one in Rotterdam were built, along with a living room, kitchen area, bedroom, an outdoor space (with work by Adam Shiu Yang Shaw). The one large room could only be entered via secret passage through a wardrobe. 

Part 1 – Home Movies (Nov 19 – Dec 18)

Curated by Peach, the first exhibition included a program of videos related to domestic activities and films, including organiser Łuczak whose work explored a certain melancholic absence of power during the time of online activism. Her installation ‘Magic Mud Mask’ consisted of a video borrowing the aesthetics of YouTube cosmetic tutorials, embroideries on towels and an arrangement of ceramic tableware.

Part 2 – The Fates (Nov 19 – 22)

Also curated by Łuczak, tapestries and looms made by weaving-maker Sytze Roos are accompanied by the intermittent presence of Nina Beier’s performance ‘Tragedy’, where pet owners are invited to bring their dogs to “play dead” on the carpet provided.

Part 3 – Dingum presents Brachland (Nov 25 – Dec 15 )

Berlin-based curatorial platform Dingum (Hannes Schmidt & Dennis Oliver Schroer) picked seven artists to transform W139  into a mise-en-scène of an urban wasteland, including Mathis Altman, who filled a couch with worms and tipped it up to one side, and a rusty metal fountain by Olga Balema.

Part 4 – The Life Intense (Dec 16 – 18)

To end the program, the Peach community brought together over 20 participants for a weekend of performance and live music, borrowing its title from writer and philosopher Tristan Garcia‘s recent book La Vie Intense. Collaboration played a key role in the event, including performance between Gislind Köhler and Aleksandra Bielas where text was hand written on the wall of the gallery, as well as Anni Puolakka‘s performance in collaboration with Alexander Iezzi.

Some notable solo acts included live music sets by Daniel Stempfer (Jenifer Nails) and Viktor Timofeev, as well as Lauren Huret‘s ten minute performance inside a closet.**

Peach Rotterdam’s month-long residency and exhibition programme was on at Amsterdam’s W139, running November 18 to December 19, 2016.

More than just an exhibition, Rotterdam’s Peach temporarily relocated to Amsterdam to present a month-long programme reflecting on the ecosystem that has been building in the port city they call home. In doing so, the collective that was established in 2015 by Ghislain Amar and Anna Maria Łuczak brought together works by people who have previously played a part in creating said community to artist-run space W139. They hosted an exhibition in four parts over the course of one month from November 19 until December 18, 2016. 

Peach briefly moved out of their three-storey apartment in Rotterdam to invite artists Sabrina Chou and Hunter Longe to help run the self-described “explosion of the domestic” in Amsterdam, where they recreated it as a surrogate to build on the intimacy and familiarity felt within the space of an abode.

Below is a breakdown of the four parts (but perhaps five if you count ‘Part 0’) and some of the artists that stood out in the show:

Part 0 – The Apartment (Nov 9 – Dec 18 )

The temporary apartment relocation began with an opening to showcase the newly built space: walls and a door similar to the one in Rotterdam were built, along with a living room, kitchen area, bedroom, an outdoor space (with work by Adam Shiu Yang Shaw). The one large room could only be entered via secret passage through a wardrobe. 

Part 1 – Home Movies (Nov 19 – Dec 18)

Curated by Peach, the first exhibition included a program of videos related to domestic activities and films, including organiser Łuczak whose work explored a certain melancholic absence of power during the time of online activism. Her installation ‘Magic Mud Mask’ consisted of a video borrowing the aesthetics of YouTube cosmetic tutorials, embroideries on towels and an arrangement of ceramic tableware.

Part 2 – The Fates (Nov 19 – 22)

Also curated by Łuczak, tapestries and looms made by weaving-maker Sytze Roos are accompanied by the intermittent presence of Nina Beier’s performance ‘Tragedy’, where pet owners are invited to bring their dogs to “play dead” on the carpet provided.

Part 3 – Dingum presents Brachland (Nov 25 – Dec 15 )

Berlin-based curatorial platform Dingum (Hannes Schmidt & Dennis Oliver Schroer) picked seven artists to transform W139  into a mise-en-scène of an urban wasteland, including Mathis Altman, who filled a couch with worms and tipped it up to one side, and a rusty metal fountain by Olga Balema.

Part 4 – The Life Intense (Dec 16 – 18)

To end the program, the Peach community brought together over 20 participants for a weekend of performance and live music, borrowing its title from writer and philosopher Tristan Garcia‘s recent book La Vie Intense. Collaboration played a key role in the event, including performance between Gislind Köhler and Aleksandra Bielas where text was hand written on the wall of the gallery, as well as Anni Puolakka‘s performance in collaboration with Alexander Iezzi.

Some notable solo acts included live music sets by Daniel Stempfer (Jenifer Nails) and Viktor Timofeev, as well as Lauren Huret‘s ten minute performance inside a closet.**

Peach Rotterdam’s month-long residency and exhibition programme was on at Amsterdam’s W139, running November 18 to December 19, 2016.