The title of this work takes its name from Admiral Robert Edwin Peary, the explorer who in 1909 after years of preparation was first to undertake a legendary expedition to the North Pole. Before the expedition Peary lived for a time with some Eskimos and from them learned how to hunt, how to work with sled dogs and many other skills for survival under extreme cold conditions. Following a precise strategy and accompanied by a team of professionals and a huge supply of food, Peary departed for the northern-most point of the earth, not knowing what he would find there. What does an explorer experience on an expedition to the unknown? Curiosity and a longing for adventure clearly go hand in hand with great risk, fear, danger and uncertainty. During the journey one must be constantly on the alert. The surroundings must be checked out, the situation assessed and the position determined. The installation 'Peary' consists of two huge projection screens. The screens are placed against a wall in such a way that together they form a forwards projecting ninety degrees angle. When a viewer approaches the installation, moving images of a figure are initiated on the two transparent screens. The projections are linked interactively to the movements of the viewer in the space. With the mysteries and stories about exploratory expeditions in the background of our thoughts we can form an idea of what an adventurer might have come across on his journey. 'Peary' focuses on the meeting with the unknown other. The viewer can approach the projected figure in the space at leisure. This openness is brought about by the light the projections shed on the darkened space. The figure walks slowly forwards, emerging timidly out of a blue misty atmosphere, apparently just as curious about what or who is approaching him as the other way round. The proportions and the positioning of the projected figure are on a level with the body of the viewer. It seems that Schalken & Van Dinther want to achieve some kind of physical exchange. Such a relation is effected by physical gestures, giving signs, using the senses. The work has no text. Language as a means to communicate and overcome alienation has been left out. The absence of language does not imply lack of contact. As viewer you are being challenged to sharpen your senses. Both parties undergo a fascinating interaction of sensitive exploration. A play of feeling and probing, and inspiring confidence in strange territory is set in motion. Moreover, the desire to discover goes hand and hand with the uncertainty of the unknown. The figure is far from indifferent to the behaviour of the viewer. He reacts purposefully and resolutely to each movement on the other side of the screen. This figure in the mist clearly proves himself to be more ambiguous than 'Tafelman' (1998), a figure Schalken & Van Dinther designed for an earlier interactive work. The confrontation with the projected figure is lively and direct. 'Peary' stirs up a feeling of presence, opposite to the understanding of intangibility. When the visitor takes some distance, the figure disappears like a shadow, leaving behind the icy atmosphere, and the idea that contact seemed only to exist in the eye of the mind.
– Marieke van Hal
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Tobias Schalken ° 1972, Oss (Netherlands)
Lives and works in Arnhem (Netherlands)
Stefan van Dinther ° 1969, 's-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands)
Lives and works in Amsterdam (Netherlands)
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