This exhibition offered a platform to more than twenty international artists who were staying in Rotterdam's studio residences at the time. Wrong Time, Wrong Place thus drew attention to the major influence of five studio complexes on the dynamics of the Rotterdam art climate.
Rotterdam has a network of residence locations that is unique in the Netherlands, in which the artist-to-artist principle is central. Bad, Kaus Australis, Het Wilde Weten, Duende, Kunst & Complex and others – were and are studio buildings where local artists work and who also host foreign colleagues who want to stay in Rotterdam for a period. Places like Duende and Kunst & Complex initiated a lively exchange climate. Bad, Het Wilde Weten and Kaus Australis offer their international guests not only a studio, but also a stage. This Neck of The Woods was temporarily Canadian territory between 2005 and 2007 and welcomed many international guests. Thanks to Rotterdam's tradition of artist-initiated guest locations, Rotterdam artists are part of a lively international community.
A residency period is usually the moment for an artist to gain impressions, contacts and inspiration. The artist goes into the city, searches, looks, thinks and discovers. These are experiences that later become visible in the work in another place. Wrong Time, Wrong Place turned this principle around and showed the artist's work at the place where it originated, in order to question the relationship of the resident artist to the kaleidoscopic reality of Rotterdam. Central questions were: Why is Rotterdam so attractive to foreign artists? What are they looking for here that they cannot find elsewhere? And what is the effect on the Rotterdam art community of this constant stream of visitors?
Residency in the exhibition
The architect/designer duo Ooze (Eva Pfannes and Sylvain Hartenberg) designed a graphic grid for Wrong Time, Wrong Place as a base for the exhibition. The participating residents formed a broad group of twenty-one artists, with many nationalities, and just as many media in which they worked. In the exhibition, a guest stay was even possible: artist Yvette Poorter temporarily designated her installation Knock on Woods as Canadian territory where artists could spend a residency period during the exhibition.
With thanks to Bad, Het Wilde Weten, Kunst & Complex, Kaus Australis, Duende, Knock on Woods, European Cultural Foundation and the Canadian Council for the Arts.