Smoking and waiting. Waiting and smoking.(The Stranger I)
perfomance in public space
Monday 25.09.2017 – Thursday 28.09.2017
from 4.30 p.m until sunset
at BRDG, Antwerp
Special thanks to Mathias Mu

Taking as a starting point the public space, as a place where, each second, unexpected/ absurd and random encounters take place, this work aims to explore the daily use of public space and questions the vicinity between the people sharing the same public urban landscape.
What does it mean for someone to stand still at the same spot for a long time in a city like Antwerp, seemingly for no reason, under the current (turbulent) political climate and aggressive immigration policies?
For four days, at the junction between Oostenstraat and Mercatostraat, a performer stands still, waits and smokes.
At the request of the residents and on the last day of the performance the police approached the performer to investigate his intentions. At the same time a woman that resides in the neighborhood was surprised to hear that the performer was part of a visual arts project. Until then, she thought the performer was homeless, who for reasons of dignity did not ask for help.

images (c) Mark Rietveld