Flying Ideas

Research notes on their studio walls, (un)clear images in their minds, draft edits and exports on their desktops… Artists need somewhere to go when their practice is messy, when work is ‘unfinished’ – when there are just Flying Ideas.

Flying Ideas is a collective space for works-in-progress. We recognise that the processes of development in between finished works are where we spend most of our time. Yet, this time is often hidden, or if anything is whispered about; it is rarely brought to the forefront, instead attention is focused on the ‘final’ outcome.

Recognizing the value of open thought and discussion, these work-in-progress screenings are experiments in how we can decentralize the final work and invite audiences into the in-between. Together, we can search for harmonies in our collective mess.

This first instalment of Flying Ideas brings together Te Petchara, Sam Koopman & Marty Overdijk, Yalou Groeneweg, Claudio Tola, Luni Jančoraitė, Arabella Turner and Aitana López. Peering into their practices and unfinished pieces of work, expect to enter into a space which challenges dominant imaginaries and makes speculative connections.

Various methods will be used to explore the floating propositions that make up these Ideas, such as re-imagining old and new worlds using myth and archive. There will be experiments in scriptwriting and fragmented text which lay bare the power dynamics present in the world of corporate work. As well as narrative discoveries through the intersecting paths of unlikely friends.

Each artist brings forth a distinct and often discordant practice that nonetheless finds consonance in a shared attitude to investigation – one that is not necessarily in pursuit of answers, but rather valuing different ways of being curious.

work:

To talk to you, to talk to the other (working title)
by Aitana López

Toxic behaviors, disjointed discourses, absurd threats… In this research I am exploring a monologue extracted from the corporate world. The discourse has a monolithic and one-way character that acts as a force of oppression, hindering dialogue or listening yet revealing its intrinsic absurdity and violence. I am approaching this material by reflecting through language and memory, opening it up to conversations, experiments and encounters.

Untitled (blue piece)
by Claudio Tola

Combining appropriated and original footage with a fragmented script, this piece draws speculative connections between various scientific and technological facts – blue light, blue noise, human retinal structures, archetypal objects of looking, omnipresent LED screens, possible blindness, disrupted circadian rhythms […]. Rather loose yet possibly – literally – eye-opening, this piece is an attempt at questioning the way we see – and stand – in a world of – blue – images.

Whilst cliffs roar, caves whisper
by Arabella Turner

An unusual geological form is discovered along the British coastline and upon inspection begins to show signs of intelligence. Whilst undergoing an investigation by surrounding humans, this being weaves together memory, myth and experience, forming a path to the
present moment.

To My Motherland
by Te Petchara

Follow a Thai’s quest in The Netherlands, exploring her motherland’s superstitious beliefs while being far from home. Driven by curiosity and a yearning to spiritually connect to home, she investigates Thailand’s deep-rooted superstitions and rituals that she once took for
granted. Blending documentary and fiction, the narrative reveals ritual performances that shed light on issues of social inequality, capitalism, and sexism.

Building Goddess
by Luni Jančoraitė

Theories of Lithuanian archaeomythologist Marija Gimbutas inspired the re-imagination of the goddess of Anthropocene while questioning historical accuracy and mythic genesis. Marija’s Goddess theory proposed that the primal deity for our ancestors was female – a self-generating goddess, giver of life, and wielder of death and regeneration. Her theories, challenging male-centric views introduced a new perspective to examine prehistoric findings, questioning the dominance of male imagination in archaeology.

Work(ing Together) in Process
by Sam Koopman & Marty

An explorative correspondence regarding the processes amongst the makers of a film that strives to to be or not to be a film. A project in crisis, much like the creative minds behind it two people who unexpectedly became friends and collaborators, inside a heterotopia on the
west side of Rotterdam.

Untitled
by Yalou Groeneweg

A piece that navigates the relationship between the past and the now. And focuses on the connection between my family today and my grandmother: Éva and her Hungarian heritage. And my grandfather: Martijn as the cameraman. It is all archival footage filled with family perspectives, emotions and floating thoughts, as all that I see and hear is only a small part of what it was. It is also my personal observation on these intimate archived lifes and the effect of them on me and my family today. This visualization of the past is mixed with the life of the now and new filmed footage.