What Are We Looking at Tonight? - as part of the WDWXXV edition set, 2015 - Raimundas Malašauskas
about this work
Raimundas Malašauskas' What Are We Looking at Tonight? appropriated and manipulated a striking archival image taken during the 1993 Jef Guys exhibition at Witte de With. The original photograph was shot by Bob Goedewaagen. The 1993 exhibition Wat eten wij vandaag? (What Are We Having for Dinner Tonight?) was associated with the fifth Architecture International Rotterdam manifestation, whose theme was the postwar residential areas built in Rotterdam’s Alexanderpolder neighborhood. Jef Geys’s project commented on the abstract way architects, urban planners and politicians tend to think about the urban environment.
By inviting nine families from Alexanderpolder to contribute to his exhibition, Geys let the residents have their own say about the area they inhabit. In the exhibition, the families presented photographs of their living area. Each evening, throughout the entire exhibition period, one of the nine participating families was filmed having dinner and broadcasted by the local television station.
This edition is part of a set that was produced in the context of Witte de With’s In Light Of 25 Years. On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, Witte de With examined its history, dedicating its ground-floor gallery to a series of commissioned presentations by a select group of contemporary artists. Each participant created an image-based work that analyzed certain sediments of contemporary art history. Presented on a large-scale double-sided light box these anniversary commissions were visible to the city day and night. Throughout 2015, In Light Of 25 Years functioned as a space for artists and curators to respond to developments in contemporary art, its landscape and possibilities, departing from Witte de With’s past program.
WDWXXV brings together the ten In Light Of 25 Years commissions. Presented in a slim Plexiglas box frame, inspired by the light box itself, this limited edition portfolio features ten high quality prints by the participating artists Özlem Altin, Wineke Gartz, Camille Henrot, Germaine Kruip, Mahony, Raimundas Malašauskas, Zin Taylor, Freek Wambacq, Lawrence Weiner, and Xu Zhen. Have a look at the individual artist pages to read more about each specific edition.
