For the second chapter of Durations, David invites Nick Steur who will develop a site-specific work titled Watch Tower.
Working primarily with stone, Steur creates installations and performances that are often site-specific and durational in nature. His analogue practices are in high contrast with today’s fast pace. Although Steur often draws inspiration from the visual arts, he finds the live aspect of performance important: “Live rituals allow duration and togetherness, in which we become aware of the present and our own presence in it.” Rather than grand gestures or symbolism, his actions appear mainly functional; moving a boulder or catching a drop of water… However, through skill and intense focus he is able to connect our inner dialogue with the material, physical world again. This holistic approach succeeds in creating subtle changes in time and space, and perhaps in people.
Entrance fee: a stone. The audience was invited to bring a stone as big (or bigger) as their own fist. Without it, they could have not experienced the work, unless someone else brought a stone for them.
Nick Steur (Nijmegen, 1982) is a Dutch artist working from Brussels. Since graduating in 2011 from the Institute for Performative Arts in Maastricht, his works have been shown in museums such as MuHKA and Middelheim, Bozar and Kanal Centre Pompidou in Brussels and international arts festivals like Spring Utrecht, Lift London, Adelaide and Edinburgh festival. Steur won several prizes and is currently supported by SoAP Maastricht, In Situ European Network, Workspace Brussels, C-Takt and the Performing Arts Fund in the Netherlands.
