Posts Tagged ‘The Force of Freedom’

Telewar, 2012 edition of 25

The publication, next to the spatial presentation, is a collection of thoughts, found footage, Internet published articles, and different privite materials gathered in the web that, speak about “drone technologies and contemporary conflict, which manifests itself as much on the ground as it does in the media” (Telewar, introduction). The zine was put together within the three weeks of The Force of Freedeom working period. The artists do not consider it as a definite outcome from out of their research, but more as a step towards further investigation, which is meant to start a dialogue and create a certain awareness. The publication is still available to purchase for €10. Please contact us if you are interested.

After the project was realized 10 publications will donated to Upominki.

To read more about the project, go to Telewar

(all pictures courtesy of the artists)

Opening: 21st December at 19.00h

Upominki is proud to present the final results of ‘TELEWAR’ a project by The Force Of Freedom. On the 21st of December at 19h you are cordially invited to join us for the presentation during which The Force Of Freedom will also launch their thematic zine.

Between November 26th and December 21st Upominki served as a working space for the Rotterdam based artists’ collective. Within this period the artists explored their ongoing research on the concept of Telewar.

Wars are increasingly fought over bigger distances using new technologies like military drones, at the same time, they are broadcast more than ever into our daily lives through our social media newsfeeds. It is difficult to study the uses, effects and ideas of technologies that are designed to obscure. However, within the ‘TELEWAR’ The Force Of Freedom tries to make some sense of these developments through the analysis of news reports, military drone culture, dronespeak and network theory.

The Force Of Freedom collective found in Rotterdam by Micha Prinsen and Roel Roscam Abbing in 2009. In their work they  react critically and playfully to the new emerging technologies and developments on the Internet.

Roel Roscam Abbing (1990) lives and works in Rotterdam where he received his Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Willem de Kooning Academy. Currently he is a MA candidate at the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam.

Micha Prinsen (1988) is an artist based in Rotterdam. In 2012 he graduated from the Fine Arts department at the Willem de Kooning Academy. Currently he spends his time working with ‘The Force’, making money at a supermarket and brewing beer.

For more info about the artists please go to http://www.the-force-of-freedom.com/

23 November – 2 December 2012

As a part of this year’s Kunstvlaai: Festival of Independents, Upominki presents Day Shifts: Taking Turns, a collaborative project by: Mercedes Azpilicueta (AR) with Ohad Ben Shimon (IL/FR), Sæmundur þór Helgason (IS), Dico Kruijsse (NL), Claire van Lubeek (NL), Eva Molenaar (NL), Robbert Pauwels (NL), Marija Repsyte (LT), Rosa Sijben (NL), David Stamp (UK), The Force of Freedom / Micha Prinsen (NL) and Roel Roscam Abbing (NL).

During the Kunstvlaai festival, Upominki will explore a very specific format of an event, i.e. the relay. The term, which derives from the Olympic relay running race, addresses the way members of a team take turns in performing a certain action. Each artist, as a member of Upominki’s relay team, takes a one-day shift and works on the spot during the ten days festival. Everyone uses the given space according to his or her own insight, as long as a trace of this action is passed on to the following participant, to be reshaped again. By using this method, the space is in a constant transition whereby the artist’s activities, in the lapse of events, create a particular rhythm. The space of the classroom serves as a condition for making connections through time, where all individual gestures influence the quality of a collective project.

Additionally to the project happening in the space, a video is presented on the corridor. In September this year, together with the artists Upominki produced a video work, which was shot and edited in exchange of labour by Joaquín Cociña. The image shows the group of artists and curators playing in the Upominki’s space the ‘Chinese whispers’ game. It invokes the ambiguities and possible misunderstandings of the meaning of a passed on message or statement, and how these ambiguities or misunderstandings don’t stop the process of passing on, but push it forward in creating new meanings.

In order to take part in Kunstvlaai festival this year, Upominki was asked to pay €300 fee. To make Day Shifts: Taking Turns happen we equally split this amount among ourselves and the artists.