Crossroads kicks-off at outLINE on May 24th. This project consists of six different presentations by six independent freelance curators, each introducing an artist. Integral to the project is the dialogue between the artist and curator. With this series we would like to offer artists the chance to explore new ways of considering their work, or a unique opportunity to interact with the public. For the first presentation, Esther Vossen will present Laurence Aëgerter [FR 1972].

Aëgerter graduated from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam with a degree in 17th century art and finished her studies at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2007. Aëgerter is inspired by systems and structures. In her work she attempts to understand reality. She begins by personalising impersonal systems such as encyclopedias, telephone books and public collections. By rearranging and placing them within a new context, she constructs a new and equivocal ‘story’, where fact and fiction are indistinguishable. She uses a diverse range of media such as photography, video, artists’ books, installation or a multimedia combination of these disciplines.

At outLINE Aëgerter shows ‘R.F. 259-0804011126/Le Louvre’, three photos of staged yet intimate snapshots of a one-on-one confrontation between the viewer and the famous masterpiece from the collection of the Louvre in Paris. One sees the viewer from the back looking at Ingres’ work, ‘Le Bain Turc’, from de La Tour ‘Le Tricheur’ as well as Chardin’s ‘La Raie’. The outer edge of the photo lines up with the inner edge of the photo’s frame, thereby allowing the viewer in the work to become part of the composition of the painting. The photos are presented as the actual size of the masterpieces.

Also at outLINE is ‘Het Apparaat’ [The Device]. The title comes from the Rijksmuseum’s photo documentation system. ‘Het Apparaat’ contains photos taken of passers-by looking at classic masterpieces in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The photos are arranged in two archival boxes as an alternative and personal ‘apparatus’.

Aëgerter’s project in outLINE is about the individual perception of a masterpiece. With ‘Le Louvre’ and ‘Het Apparaat’, she tests out the imaginative potential and sensitivity of the viewer and makes the ‘act of seeing’ into a work of art.

Laurence Aëgerter has been recently nominated for the Polly Morph Award. Her work is in diverse collections, including AMC, Het Parool in Amsterdam, the Dutch Royal library in The Hague and the National Library of France in Paris.