SYMBIONTS

In nature, symbionts are life forms that interact in mutually beneficial ways. In the presentation “Prosperity Biotopes / Nocturnal Garden” the botanical art projects of Daan Samson and Elsbeth van Noppen also come together in a mutally benefical way.

NP3 | RE:Search:Gallery
May 6 – June 23, 2022


BOX: Elsbeth van Noppen
CENTRAL: Daan Samson

In recent years, Daan and Elsbeth have each developed a research trajectory in which the world of fauna and flora plays an important role. Within the art project Symbionts Daan created welfare biotopes, defined habitats in which milk-frothers and other comfort enhancers come together with living plants and ant colonies. Elsbeth focused on the intimate relationship between the night, man, and nature. With her long-running project Nocturnal Garden, she creates a universe in which botany, performance art, and nightclub culture are mixed into a sultry cocktail. NP3 | RE:Search:Gallery is the perfect setting for the profitable meeting of these two art projects.


DISplay, the window exhibition space
Only visible from outside.

07.00 – 22.00 hrs.
Prosperity Biotopes – Daan Samson
Almost everyone feels attracted to the tropical islands presented to us in commercials. Do we collectively yearn to escape from the current society to a world where life is orderly and unspoilt? Could present-day people even survive in a habitat that has only paradisaical traits? Perhaps we can only appreciate an untouched oasis when surrounded by our beloved facial cleansers, eye massage tools, and kamado barbecues. Art project “Prosperity Biotopes” brings together two extremes: our yearning for unspoilt natural beauty, and the all-too-human wish to lead a comfortable, prosperous life.

22.00 – 03.00 hrs.
Nocturnal Garden – Elsbeth van Noppen
“Nocturnal Garden” creates nightly escapades of sweltering air, exotic fragrances, and an exuberant nature that evokes a desire for nocturnal adventures. In her hyper-visual films and stills, director Elsbeth van Noppen creates a contemporary audiovisual erotic garden. In this utopian botanical world, Elsbeth positions herself in the limitless environment of the night garden to explore the intimate sensations that she experiences in the presence of flora at night.