Eelco de Vries’s installation Unheimisch (2010) was composed to allow the viewer’s physical involvement by physically entering the installation and experiencing all of the work’s elements in conjunction with the surrounding space. The viewer enters and immerses himself into a specific situation, thus creating a direct and specific relationship. The aim of the work is for the experience to remain non-transferable, individual. The basic experience is insecurity, fear, heaviness, or a sense of unease from the unclear setting that is presented here. The visitor enters a light-filled room containing a large wooden container. He can see into the dark interior of the container, from which there emanates the rhythmic sound of dripping water. The interior is reminiscent of a cement cellar, complete with water-stained ceiling. Inside, the viewer finds himself in something like an underground space. The use of drab materials intensifies the psychological by activating subliminal processes. The entire scene reminds us of the case of J. Fritzl, who held his daughter captive in his basement. The theatrical nature of the work stimulates the viewer’s imagination. His active role and the importance of his direct experience have the potential of becoming an alternative to the dulling effects of the mass media.
Mira Keratová