CHINATOWN>ROTTERDAM

Supervised

2007-03-12T10:32:00.000Z

All along the street there are signs indicating that you are being supervised by police cameras. Is this supposed to make you feel secure or threatened? What business and people are there that needs to be controlled, and who are the potential victims of theese activites?
At daytime the street is lively, a real frontside in the city. No reason for feeling insecure. But in the empty streets at night.
A look at their tapes of Chinatown could definately be interesting!

NightLife?

2007-03-12T10:27:00.000Z

In the middle of the "Chinatown" lies NightLife. Supposedly an active spot in the hot undergroundish Rotterdam night life. Our observers has been around several times late night ans early mornings to check it out. But it turns out it's closed for some reason. The street is devastatingly empty after nine or ten pm. Is this a sign of decline?

acupunctured: 2

2007-02-26T20:15:00.000Z

The very kind middle age chinese woman in the HP Dong acupuncture shop has tied me to her business. She tells me I need long time treatment for my "neck problems". I didn't realise there were any problems, but I guess there's nothing for me to do than to be coming back every week.
Even though we can not communicate in the same language I think we're starting to like each other. She gives me chinese tea and tells me it will make me beautiful if I drink enough. Which would be more than five cups a day, so I think it will be quite a while until the beauty occurs.

In the waiting room her husband passes his time by playing mayhong with his friends. I never see any other customers then myself, but still they seem to be wealthy and happy.

field studies

2007-02-26T20:05:00.000Z

We spent the weekend working hard on the field again. The last weekend carried a few unpleasant incidents with junkies being unvolontarily filmed, and some intercourses with the police. So we decided to go slow this time. No cameras, only pen and paper. With this equipment we documented rhythm. Everything passing our point of surveillance was registered as a tiny line. At the end of the day our piece of paper looked like an inferno of evil little lines wounded up with each other. Still we are very proud of this documentation. At the moment they're being interpreted by Johan and transformed in to beautiful rhythm diagrams.

Creative Practice Workshop

2007-02-25T23:48:00.000Z

Learning to use creativity as a way to solve problems....

And learning that the use of space is determined by the use pepole who live inside do of it....

Two days workshop working with a camera, great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Acupunctured

2007-02-14T08:12:00.000Z

Waking up on tuesday morning I reckoned a bad pain in my neck. It was screaming for some human touch. Since I couldn't go to school until getting rid of it I decided to use the opportunity and try some Chinese massage. The first place I found looked closed, but had a promising sign saying "Massage only". I rang the door bell even though the place looked suspicously closed. It took about forever until the door was opened. I was greeted by a tiny girl in enormous high heels and a very short skirt. She told me that she would love to give me a massage, but not if I was in pain. Then it was medical and I had to go somewhere else. Door slammed in my face. Ok. Strange. But maybe it was just for the better.

So eventually I found the right place. I was acupunctured (did you know they use electronical devices from the 70's to electrify the customs?), and massaged. To my surprice it included no lying down on nice massage beds and listening to cosy music. I spent an hour sitting on a tiny stool and commuinicating in my extremely poor dutch with the Chinese grand mother who finally cured me. But before I left she told me I have to come back at least three more times. And that I shouldn't work so much with the computer.

Tove

Choreographing Space and Dynamic Representation

2007-02-13T22:34:00.000Z

2 day workshop with Susanna Recchia from London...Learning how to move our body through the Space and getting consciousness of the human body...

2007-02-11T18:18:00.000Z

First 2 days in Rotterdam, exploring Chinatown...

We found the object, a gift shop in which Chinese newspapers and magazines are sold...and now we're looking for the subject...

And first meal in a Chinese restaurant, just for becoming familiar with the surroundings......!!!!!!!!!!!