CATEGORIZING MONKEYS 5.10-3.11.2007, Kunstwerk Spangen Rotterdam
The artists participating in ‘Categorizing Monkeys’ come together in Kunstwerk Spangen, Rotterdam from as far a field as Taiwan, Finland, Germany and England. They are linked by a rumble of humour, faint but not too far away to be struck by occasional bolts of laughter. Count the seconds between the crash and the crack/craic:
1. Laughter that has an edge of the fear of incomprehensible chaos.
2. The difficulty of laughter at stereotypes, or of stereotypical laughter.
3. Our temporary, absurd efforts in a face of infinite nature.
4. The stupidity in human rationalisation. Especially numbering abstract concepts. You’re right; the thunder is quite far away.
An orang-utan walks into a restaurant, and sits at a table. The waiter approaches pompously. ‘I’m sorry sir - house policy; we don’t serve orang-utans’. That’s unfair, thinks the orang-utan but so be it. And off he goes.
The show deals with the categories we impose on the world, and the absurdity of doing so. Like a flag fluttering in the wind – the edges fraying over time - so nature slowly and surely unravels human rationale.
An orang-utan stands in the queue for a club. ‘This town really doesn’t seem to like animals’, he thinks sadly ‘I hope I get in’. As he reaches the front of the queue, he sees a sign on the wall saying: ‘Fancy dress only’. The orang-utan smiles to himself, reaches into his bag, and pulls out a mask in the shape of an orang-utan’s face. Perfect! - the orang-utan thinks, they’ll never recognise me with this on.