A WAY, the presentation!

A WAY the presentation

Lily Dollner & Olivier Arts

10 – 14 May at Supermarket Art Fair

Supermarket 2023 , Stadsgårdsterminalen 116, 45 Stockholm, Sweden

Exhibitor dates are 10–14 May 2023
Press viewing: Wednesday 10 May, 11.00.  Professional preview: Wednesday 10 May, 18.00–24.00 (VIP entrance 18.00–19.00)
Public dates: 11–14 May 2023,  Public vernissage evening: Thursday 11 May, 18.00–20.00.  Opening hours: Thursday–Saturday 12.00–20.00, Sunday 12.00 – 18.00

Reflection by Olivier Arts & Lily Dollner. 26 april 2023

It’s easy to walk every day. When there aren’t any problems, distractions, or complications on the road, it becomes very easy and exciting to make them up. The biggest problem arises when everything is going well, because made up problems are far less inspiring and creative than real, organic problems, like wheels falling off or infected ankles. There comes a huge sense of relief when a real problem crops up because it takes some of the weight of responsibility off, being something that cannot reasonably be planned for or anticipated.
Being completely present and in control of what you’re doing is exhausting and confronting, and being absent and dumbly following the orders of someone else is boring and annoying. Physical challenges are relaxing because they serve as a perfect balance between personal responsibility, pride, simplicity, egotism, perceived impressiveness, subjectiveness, being stimulated but also bored. Walking long distances occupies the mind just enough to keep it ticking along, without causing unnecessary stress, and the inevitably boring last hour or two is compensated by the added stimulation of joint/muscle pain, and the joy of masochism and emotional struggle. When you remove a 20kg bag after 2-4 hours, it feels like walking on the moon. Unencumbered walking feels ecstatic and smug, like cheating.
The stream of positive feedback, received from hosts, is regularly compensated by the stream of negative feedback flowing between eachother (walking requires balance, rhythm, and not much else).

“An object cannot compete with an experience”. Which one is more important? I never really understood this question, as an object comes always with an experience (s) and an experience comes always with an object (s). Was it about the material or the immaterial? Are they things that you can seperate from one another? Mind versus body, but the mind is made of body and the body is made from mind. When you go on holiday, you show pictures because people ask for them. Maybe people only ask to see photographs because it’s less boring than hearing someone talk about it. It also allows you to have your own private opinion about the content, rather than being told that the beach was beautiful and the water was nice to swim in. Pictures however are also didactic, because of the decisions made by the photographer to contextualise the image in a certain way to give a specific impression to the viewer. Our attempt in our presentation to communicate the walk in a way that is sincere and unbiased is therefore doomed to fail.

I agreed to go on the walk with the other because I thought we got on well very quickly after meeting eachother.
I got along well with them very quickly after meeting them because they remind me of myself.
They remind me enough of myself that I could be far crueller to them than to someone who I could relate less to, because of the Gollum/Smeagol dynamic. Me perceiving them as a shitter version of myself allowed me to be the best version of myself, or at least a version of myself that I could tolerate.

Supermarket Art Fair , 10 – 14 mei
De ultieme travel agency voor A WAY

A WAY, de travel performance te voet door Lily Dollner & Olivier Arts van Groningen naar Stockholm vond z’n weerslag in een dynamische presentatie op de non -profit manifestatie Supermarket Art fair te Stockholm in SIGN’s stand. De prettige internationale art fair, ook geschikt voor contacten met gelijkgestemden voor zowel kunstenaars als organisaties, werd goed bezocht. SIGN kreeg veel aandacht in de pers zowel in Zweden als in Nederland – we hebben een aantal artikelen voor je verzameld verderop in de mail.
Olivier en Lily waren zelf veel aanwezig bij de stand voor tekst en uitleg. Ook de loopband was opgesteld, zodat bezoekers de laatste meters nog mee konden lopen. Een drietal video’s diende als een verslaglegging van de reis, waarbij op hilarische wijze teruggekeken werd op wat ze tijdens de tocht hadden meegemaakt. Met een sterk relativerende luchtige vormgeving in beeld en geluid die hun vaak tegengestelde, contrasterende ervaring weerspiegelde. De Iphone kwaliteit van de films onderstreepte het reiskarakter van dit project: dat was tenslotte de manier om de belevenissen vast te leggen.
Een dag-tot-dag verslag op ansichtkaarten met teksten stond in een folderrek, de bepakte bolderkar stond in het midden, inclusief ontplofte en lekgeraakte banden. Al met al: een travel agency uitstraling voor de ultieme DIY reis.

Supermarket Art Fair, May 10 – 14
The ultimate travel agency for A WAY

A WAY, the travel performance on foot by Lily Dollner & Olivier Arts from Groningen to Stockholm ,was reflected in a dynamic presentation at the non-profit event Supermarket Art Fair in Stockholm in SIGN’s stand. The pleasant international art fair, a great way to get in touch with like-minded people for both artists and organisations, was well attended. SIGN received a lot of press coverage both in Sweden and the Netherlands – we’ve collected some articles for you further down in the mail.
Olivier and Lily were often present at the stand to explain their endeavours. The treadmill was present, so visitors could still walk the last few meters. Three videos served as a report of the trip, hilariously looking back on what they experienced. With a strongly relativizing fun design in image and sound that reflected their often contradictory, contrasting experience. The iPhone quality of the films underlined the travel character of this project: after all, that was the most easy way to record their experiences.
A day-to-day report on postcards with texts was placed in a brochure rack, the packed wagon was in the middle, including exploded and punctured tires. All in all: a travel agency look for the ultimate DIY trip.

A WAY in de pers / A WAY press coverage

– De kunstenaars werden gevraagd voor een pitch bij de persconferentie van Supermarket Art Fair, hierbij deelden ze al vies en bezweet van hun lange reis een kort verslag. Olivier deed zelfs een deel in het Zweeds! The artists were asked for a pitch at the press conference of Supermarket Art Fair, where they shared a short report, dirty and sweaty from their long journey. Olivier even pitched a small part in Swedish!

– Zwedens grootste krant Dagens Nyheter schreef dat de kunstenaars de prijs hadden gewonnen voor het meeste doorzettingsvermogen bij deze fysieke en psychologische prestatie. The biggest Swedish newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, wrote that the artists won the prize for the most perseverance in this physical and psychological feat.

– Het Dagblad van het Noorden en RTV Noord schonken beiden aandacht aan het werk van Olivier en Lily door reportages en live interviews op de radio en tv. Leuk feitje: het werk heeft het zelfs geschopt tot de quiz van RTV Noord! Dagblad van het Noorden and RTV Noord both paid attention to the work of Olivier and Lily through reports and live interviews on radio and TV. Fun fact: the work has even made it to the quiz of RTV Noord!