The Water Party
September 7 – November 3, 2019

DAVID BERNSTEIN
INEKE VAN DER BURG
LIU CHAO-TZE
ROSA SIJBEN
MARCO LAMPIS
SELF LUMINOUS SOCIETY
900 STIG FEATURING INDRIDI

The exhibition The Water Party by David Bernstein takes the artist’s eponymous text published in Metropolis M as a starting point to imagine the presentation of a fictional political party that propagandises the social, spiritual and philosophical value of water to our society. A Tale of A Tub is transformed back into its historical function as a communal public bath house and meeting place. This aspect is of great importance to Bernstein, whose work is based around meeting with people and sharing ideas. His installations usually possess a performative character, whereby the audience is concurrently the viewer, listener and participant.

On the ground floor Bernstein has installed a large wooden hot tub in which visitors are invited to bathe and melt, soaking knowledge together, returning to the warmth of the womb. The tub not only refers to the Japanese ofuro (soaking tub) and Mikvah (Jewish ritual bath), but it also carries a deep connection with the artist’s mother and grandmother who share a love of baths. Along with this embodied practice, artworks are presented which promote the fluid ideals of The Water Party, such as matriarchy, collaboration, divine holding, sharing pain as a form of resilience, and soul-flooding (instead of brainstorming).

Many of the pieces come from collaborations or from friends, as Bernstein views the act of invitation as an extension of his individual practice. Some works are presented on top of others and some join a collection taking on a new temporary title and role. This expresses the artist’s belief in the flexibility of objects and meaning. In this sense, water is taken as a metaphorical starting point, an intuitive process for finding relationships between things. At its core, The Water Party asks its visitor to believe in the other, the unknown, and the things we don’t completely understand. When leaving the exhibition, one might find themselves humming a katschy (kitschy catchy) song from the seventies, (They Long to Be) Close to You, by the Carpenters. This is chosen as the party’s anthem because being together intimately, compassionately, and spiritually is their main message.

Every other Sunday, a listening session is organised with an invited host.

Don’t forget to bring your swimsuits and towels!