Number eight, everything is going to be alright

“Everything is going to be alright” - with these words, Dutch artist Guido van der Werve (*1977) transports us to a barren icy landscape in his ten-minute video work, where he unflinchingly walks towards us a few metres in front of a 3,500-tonne icebreaker. Van der Werve interweaves complex themes such as nature, progress, threat, technology, confidence, courage and fear in this monumental image. Small openings in the display window of the exhibition space provide a view of a cold, supposedly different world in the middle of summer. The seemingly dramatic scenario depicts a tragicomic moment, while the simplicity of the concept creates an almost painterly quality. In contrast to Caspar David Friedrich’s “The Sea of Ice” (1823/24), van der Werve’s ship is not buried under the force of nature, but rather emenates a constant danger, threatening to break away from under the artist’s feet. Whether we will soon be shipwrecked remains an open question in the endlessly looped installation.

As an artist, Guido van der Werve is primarily known for his video works and performances, in which he explores themes such as loneliness, existential searching, nature and music. He often pushes himself to his own physical limits, for example through extreme physical exertion or endurance. The artist studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie Amsterdam and at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten Amsterdam. In 2008, he took part in the International Studio & Curatorial Program in New York and was a fellow at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, in 2011. He was also trained as a classical pianist at the Rotterdam Conservatory. His works have been exhibited at MoMA in New York, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., among others, and are represented in important collections such as the Museum of Art, Dallas, Fondazione Giuliani, Rome and Nederlands Instituut voor Mediakunst, Amsterdam. Van der Werve lives and works in Amsterdam (NL), Berlin (DE) and Hassi (FI).