Platform 2 is NIMk's new exhibition space. This second space, which is situated on the second floor, is an alternative, autonomous space with presentations that run parallel with the exhibitions programmed on the first floor. Platform 2 literally offers artists a platform from where they can launch their (new) works by offering them a location where they can both develop and present their pieces. During the exhibition, the artists are free to continue developing their work. The spaces are dynamic, ephemeral and active.

The works by the three artists presented at Platform 2 were developed independently and are not related or connected to each other. However, by presenting these works and the diverse working methods employed by the artists together, exciting and unexpected links can be made.

Opening Platform 2
Featuring: Robert Overweg, Andre Avelas and Job van Doeselaar
When: Wednesday 12 October at 6 pm / free entrance

Robert Overweg is a photographer of virtual world environments. These environments most often appear in first and third person shooter games but Overweg sees them operating as a direct extension of his physical world, revealing a new public space of contemporary society.
Overweg proceeds either by foot or by air to the outskirts of the virtual world which he then dissects through his photography. In doing so, he draws our attention to environments that are often overlooked and yet ironically appear to be eerily familiar. The images not only document the limitations of these virtual worlds, they are often capable of triggering memories and associations from real world life experience. We are consequently transported via the virtual back to the real where a visual semiotic interplay allows us to abandon the context of the game almost entirely.

 

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André Avelãs - 50 Hz (Mains & Oscillators), 2011
Curated by Koen Nutters / DNK-Amsterdam

Andre Avelas presents a work he recently produced called 50 HZ (MAINS & OSCILLATORS). It’s a system of translation where the existing power sockets in the gallery directly connect walls to speakers amplifying the frequency that come from the building's power mains (50 hz). Clusters of electronics and cables are coupled in pairs with oscillators on the same frequency. These multiple pairs are installed in the space according to a logic determined by the existing architecture of the building's power outlet network.

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Technologies affect our society in their attempt to make communication easier, mainly visible in advertising. By recycling and re-appropriating either new or old techniques Job Doeselaar subverts this communication into another experience of this very culture, by knowingly adhering to the subconscious structure of the xperience of communication. The work he shows at Platform 2 consists of a wall mounted VCR installation showing a rearranged part of "the Matrix" in a loop. This loop contains the monologue of the character agent Smith. While this machine is running, it slowly "eats" the tape loop until Smith's wisdom is lost.