Revel in New York
A look at the city through its people
Sluik
Ron Sluik – Fragility, Change, Beauty
A Dutchman from Moldova, Norway - or elsewhere.
According to the great 20th century Austrian novelist Robert Musil, ‘truth is accompanied by a suspicious static noise, to which those most closely involved turn a deaf ear’. Like Musil, Sluik has developed an intimacy with the dynamics and pulses of the lands to the east of Vienna. His ear is tuned for all kinds of suspicious noises.
Back in the 1980s/90s , he was one half of the troublesome Dutch experimentalist outfit Sluik/Kurpershoek. Their projects included photography, video art and site-specific installations which offered subjective and lateral musings on aspects of 20th century history.
Sustained and unsettling investigations about the victims of the Allied victories of 1944 and 1945, and into the life and travels of the Dutch man who burned the Reichstag in 1933, intersected with eyes open days recording unnoticed and uncomfortable aspects of the early 90s Yugoslav wars.
Sluik is now a frequent traveler between capitals and small towns between Austria and the Black Sea, networking and bringing to light the work of young filmmakers and artists. Over the last months, you could have found him advising photography students on their work in Bratislava, introducing short Romanian films and video art pieces to students in Croatia, and helping oversee a major biennial exhibition of the work of young artists in Bucharest, Romania. He is currently living in Bergen, Norway.
Mike Waite 2007
SOURCE: Sluik.info
1979 - 1984
Art Academy AKI , Enschede NL.
1980 – 1981
Lived as a squatter in England and played in the bands The Dansettes and Trotskys Boxes.
1981
Returned to the Netherlands and recorded in the bedroom of a friend a solo music cassette C22, including the song Back to Burnsley. 22 copies were made and given away to friends and family. One was send to BBC discjockey John Peel who played the song several times telling his audience to get THE record! Some of the songs found their way on compilation cassettes like HEMBRUG (distribution Finger In The Dike records).
1981 – 1982
Founded together with Emile Toorop and Kees de Groot the audio-video band Opel Kadett later renamed as Auto Awac. The video “In The Interest of Science and Technology” is the pioneer video of the so-called 3rd video generation. (distribution: )
1982 – 2000
Start of the audio-visual cooperation between Ron Sluik and Reinier Kurpershoek under the name Sluik/Kurpershoek, videos and cds were released in the 18 years they worked together(for videography see: ) cd 1982 –1992, cd Matria Europa – borderthoughts (1996 / distribution Kunstruimte Kampen). Worlwide participation on numerous video and fim festivals and works amongst others in collections of Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Centre Pompidou Paris.
1984
DAASK (Dedo, Auto Awac, S/K), English tour and cassette release HOLY ISLAND.
1985
Ricorso. Collaborationproject between 7 Dutch and English artists. Dutch concert tour and cassette release RICORSO PROJECT.
1995 –1997
VATRA (Fire), the Brand group: NURR (Germany), Ivan Faktor (Croatia), S/K (NL), Kees de Groot / PlanetArt (NL) and Calin Dan (Romania). cd VATRA (distribution: Staalplaat A’dam).
2001
Sluik decided to switch the Netherlands for former Soviet republic Moldova. Lives and works in Chisinau. Curator of Art Centre AoRTa for contemporary art and photography (Gallery, Artist in Residence, Publishing House).
