We stand motionless facing each other on both sides of the river, at the boundary of the water. Our spread arms confirm the direction from which the water comes and to which side it flows.

After a while we step into the river and move downstream with the water. The pebbles on the bottom make our balance shaky and uncertain. We spread our arms again, but now to keep ourselves balanced.

After a few meters, our paths cross and we climb onto the bank on the other side. We turn toward each other and stand motionless and in silence for some time, arms alongside.


La Têt, river in Perpignan, June 18, 2022.
The action was live-streamed on Out of Site Chicago
during Flow, embody in site.
Photo Max Wyse
 

I drove my car to the castle and parked at the top of the hill.
I left the car, picked up a pebble (1) and walked down the hill. At the fork, I dropped the pebble and picked up a dandelion leaf (2).
I walked further down, dropped the leaf (3) and collected a fallen twig. I walked on to the corner near the Mairie, where I dropped the twig (4) and picked up a piece of stone.
From there I walked to the right (5), dropped the stone and found a dried laurel leaf. Holding this leaf I walked to the old garage.
I dropped the leaf (6) and picked up a crushed piece of reed. I walked up the street to the wall of the castle gardens, let go of the reed and picked up a rose sprig. No flower, just thorns.
I walked to the left, down the hill, past the castle, where I dropped the sprig in front of a fence. There I picked up a small piece of gravel, walked down the steps to the road. I walked along the road to the right, to where I could climb again, next to the Auberge. There I let go of the piece of gravel (9) and picked up a lump of cement.
I climbed all the way up to the castle where I dropped the cement (10) and, on the side of the street, picked up the chip from a wooden board. I followed the road, past the castle, to the fork next to the parking lot (11).
I let go of the wood and picked up the first pebble I had dropped at the beginning of the walk (2). I walked back to my car, dropped the pebble (1), got in and drove off.

I performed the work A chain
in the context of my workshop Performance on the border of visibility,
part of the program of Flow, embody in site for Out of Site Chicago.

Jenny Klein wrote a text about the workshop:
Jenny Klein on Frans van Lent
 

For the Rotterdam Art Weekend I was invited by the collective 004 to participate in their joint exhibition in a studio in the Borgerstraat studio-building in Rotterdam. The 004 collective is Kathrin Wolkowicz, Dagmar Baumann and Heyer Thurnheer.

Night-time
The studio was opened to the public daily from 11:00 to 19:00. 
This means the artworks were left alone sixteen hours a day . 
When no one is around, the works have no need to interact,
they are just objects without meaning, like any other. 

I visited the studio every night, to observe the works in their quietness. 
In near darkness, I documented my observations on video. 
Every morning, when the door opened to the public,
my observations had become part of the exhibition. 

The video was shown exclusively within the context of this collective presentation.