Rock Strangers, Den Haag 2016

Curator: Right here we have Arne Quinze's "Rock Strangers, Den Haag," from 2016. These sculptures are an installation of mixed media right on the beach. Editor: My goodness, they look like discarded, giant candy wrappers washed up on the shore. So playful, and a bit surreal against the dunes. Are they as smooth as they appear? Curator: That’s a great question! Up close, you'd see a more complex story. Quinze's practice often blends fabrication with natural environments, prompting a second look at our own throwaway culture. Consider the highly polished surfaces that give that shimmering effect… a comment on consumerist desires, perhaps? Editor: Precisely. There's an interesting tension between their bulky, industrial forms and this idyllic, breezy landscape. I am also intrigued by the choice of location and labor…were they manufactured elsewhere and brought here or constructed on site? It’s interesting how a location changes a material's social perception. Curator: He is known for on-site work! And exactly! Their positioning creates such a dialogue, doesn't it? Against the mundane beach walk, these forms feel alien and poetic simultaneously. What do you think they evoke for passersby? Editor: Discarded memories, maybe? Shiny but ultimately empty promises scattered around the world. The visual trick of these hulking forms that seem to levitate due to reflection makes me wonder about the material and resources required for a spectacle that speaks to our unsustainable consumption. Curator: Maybe we read into them the echo of disposable lives in our society. And perhaps there's an act of beauty created through confronting us with these discards? To encourage us to think beyond the quick moment of shiny beauty? Editor: Maybe, if we begin with the labor it embodies, the installation’s intent becomes far richer than if read purely as visual eye candy. Curator: It seems as if the artist may be asking whether beauty can change our cultural understanding… and inspire reflection, even among our ruins. Editor: Right. A monument to trash becoming a starting point for new conversations. Always changing, as it should.