In this episode of our favourite Unfair game we will embark on a journey into space, through the words of Simon Keizer and Hagar Schuringa.
If you could bring an object to life to have a conversation with it, what would it be and why?
It would be amazing to give all atoms in my body a voice and make a huge choir out of all the voices and sing together. But the question is, are atoms objects? I think I’ll choose all the stars in the universe instead. Astronomers think there are 200 billion trillion stars, that would make an amazing choir all together. Everywhere you are in the universe you hear the same song.
For now I want I’ll assume the stars have synthesizer-like voices so I want them to sing Digital Justice’s, super trippy, It’s all gone pear shaped. A song I think will not get boring while space travelling.
Can you describe to me a recent event or encounter that influenced your work?
Absolutely! Last June and July I went to the Swiss Alps for 6 weeks to make works. I stayed in a mountain cabin all alone on a mountain without any surrounding artificial light and I saw the Milky Way for the first time in my life. There was a new moon, so no light at all. Probably the most humbling and magical moment of my life. I made a photo with my phone which is very underwhelming and the next photo is what it looked like in real life.
If you could learn a new skill in just 24 hours, what would it be?
Sing!
What do you think existed before time existed? Can you describe to us what it looked like?
I’m not sure if time even exists in the present moment. Ultimately, the concept of time is a construct we’ve invented and shaped our lives around. Even my ability to think and describe is shaped by experiences bound by time. At the same time history and the future are telling us only about the present. However, I envision a serene realm where everything flows harmoniously, perhaps reminiscent of a tranquil sea.
If you were a black hole and you could come up with your own properties, what properties would you have?
If I were endowed with the powers of a black hole, I would be really good at the act of enjoying doing nothing- something I sometimes wish I had a little bit more of in daily life. I also hope I will attain a deeper understanding of ‘massa’ (which is me) and grasp the enormity of the universe, exploring its full and empty parts.
Answering this question makes me think of the book Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino I read a while ago. In the book is this amazing story The Distance of the Moon, about the Moon and gravity.
Here’s an audio version of this story.
Let’s get back to now, or wait let’s go to the future. I’m curious what was a thought provoking question a visitor asked you during UNFAIR23? Who was the visitor? And about which work of yours was it?
I think the most provoking questions are unexpected questions – those you think later off ‘Oh I should have said…’ but then the moment has already passed.’Thus perhaps, keeping this in mind, it would likely be a question I can’t currently fathom, asked by someone I haven’t yet encountered. I also believe there isn’t a single piece more provoking than the others in the series I will present.
Hagar Schuringa Pink Noise (2023) @ Galerie Caroline O’Breen.
These interviews are part of an ongoing series of short interviews between Unfair artists, originally published through our mailings. Check the overview to read the other interviews or subscribe to our mailing list through the button below: