every moment a junction at NEST

Artists: Anca Bârjovanu, Carolin Gieszner, Cy X, hugo x tibiriçá, Juliette Lizotte, Linnéa Sjöberg, PHILTH HAUS, sWitches (Ines DeRu, Ella Hebendanz, pamela varela)

Exhibition title: every moment a junction

Curated by: melanie bonajo, Orlando Maaike Gouwenberg, Erika Sprey and NEST

Venue: NEST, The Hague, The Netherlands

Date: May 13 – July 31, 2022

Photography: Charlott Markus / all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and NEST, Rotterdam

Note: Exhibition booklet is available here

every moment a junction presents the need for encounter, intimacy, and collectivity. Together, the artists in the exhibition respond to the consequences of the individualistic society and appeal for action and a change of mentality. By working with or from wxtchcraft*, rituals, magic, and alchemical practices, they shape other ways of being together.

This group exhibition is a true collaborative effort, curated by melanie bonajo, Orlando Maaike Gouwenberg, Erika Sprey and of course the Nest team. every moment a junction connects the Studium Generale program Wxtch Craft, that has taken place at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague over the past two years, with the artistic practice of filmmaker, sexologist bodyworker, somatic sex coach/educator, facilitator of cuddle workshops and activist melanie bonajo. Their contribution to the Venice Biennale, When the body says Yes, co-curated by Orlando Maaike Gouwenberg, is a video installation that fully celebrates intimacy and touch. At Nest, that celebration continues.

The scenography Slugs Trail created by Carolin Gieszner invites you on a wandering path through the exhibition. The shimmering trails behind/through/along the artworks lead to the central coven, which offers space for performances and workshops, to activate the artworks during the exhibition period.

*The use of the term ‘wxtchcraft’ and ‘wxtch’ is further explored in the text by Erika Sprey — to be found with this publication. She shares her thoughts on the possibilities as well as the limits of the current usage of the term ‘witch’ or ‘wxtch’. In doing so, the exhibition constitutes as physical translation of the extensive virtual program of the Studium Generale cycles Wxtch Craft (2020-2022).