Video still from Lobbyists
The PRIX DE ROME.NL is the oldest Dutch ‘state’ prize for talented visual artists based in the Netherlands and under 35 years of age.
The jury of the PRIX DE ROME.NL 2009 consists of Kestutis Kuizinas (LT), Yael Bartana (IL), Jurgen Bey (NL), Bruce McLean (UK) and Barbara Visser (NL). The jury has selected a long list of ten artists out of 230 submissions. This long list will be shown at both Witte de With in Rotterdam and by de Appel in Amsterdam at the off-site location of the Westergasfabriek (‘Zuiveringshal Oost’).
Witte de With presents work by: Rossella Biscotti (IT), Nicoline van Harskamp (NL), Rob Hornstra (NL), Helmut Smits (NL), and Jasmijn Visser (NL).
De Appel shows (at the off-site location of the Westergasfabriek) work by: Maze de Boer (NL), Heidi Linck (NL), Ólafur Ólafsson i.c.w. Libia Castro, (IS / ES), Marc Oosting (NL), and Sara Rajaei (IR).
The PRIX DE ROME.NL 2009 exhibition has been curated by Sarah Farrar (de Appel) and Juan A. Gaitán (Witte de With).
The four finalists – Rossella Biscotti (I T), Nicoline van Harskamp (NL), Ólafur Ólafsson i.c.w. Libia Castro (IS / ES) and Sara Rajaei (IR) – made new work. On the basis of this work, the jury will grant the prizes of € 45.000, € 20.000, and the two awards of € 10.000.
Announcement on 28 May 2009 at the Westergasfabriek.
Video still, Lobbyists
TITLE: Lobbyists / YEAR: 2009 / A WORK BY: Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson
MATERIAL: Video HD, color, sound / LENGTH: 16 mint
LANGUAGE: Narration and vocals in English, spoken language; Dutch, English, Polish SUBTITLES: English and local language / MUSIC: Hjálmar / TEXT: Tamasin Cave
NARRATION AND VOCALS: Caroline Dalton and Hjálmar / CAMERA: Libia Castro and Ólafur Ólafsson / EDITING: Kristján Loðmfjörð, Libia Castro and Ólafur Ólafsson
APPEARENCE BY: Wytze Russchen – Russchen Consultants,
Julie Vermooten – The European Cosmetics Association (Colipa),
Frauke Thies – Green Peace, Paul de Klerck – Friends of the Earth Europe,
Erik Wesselius – Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) and others
In this video, Castro and Ólafsson portray lobbyists performing under working conditions, exploring the maelstrom surrounding their activity in Brussels and Strasbourg. In preparation for their work, the artists studied historical and contemporary sources constructing the figure of the lobbyist, interviewed and filmed a variety of people associated with lobbyist associations and civilian ‘watchdog’ groups, and dug into registration and music videos. They commissioned British reporter Tamasin Cave to write an article about the current situation and worked with british actress Caroline Dalton and the Icelandic reggae group Hjálmar to perform this text as a new song and the soundtrack to their video. The video touches on different genres, juxtaposing imagery with a newspaper article vocalized to dub music, and throughout the work humor is used as a binding agent. These contrasting and sometimes alienating elements trigger the viewer´s active involvement and reflection on the subject of the work as well as on the work and medium itself.
Lobbyists received third prize in the 2009 edition of the Dutch art prize Prix de Rome.
This work has been made possible by the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten and Prix de Rome 2009, Amsterdam.
Video still, Lobbyists
Video still, Lobbyists
Video still, Lobbyists
Video still, Lobbyists
Video still, Lobbyists