Sjoerd Knibbeler
'Sleeping guest'
June 3rd - July 1st, 2006
“Photography is a negation of chronology”
Geoff Dyer, The Ongoing Moment (
photos of the opening
photos of the installation
sleeping photos
photo's from the night Sjoerd is sleeping in het Plafond
Read reactions to Sjoerd Knibbeler's presentation and give your own.
Sjoerd Knibbeler. [sleeping picture], 2006 / detail
Sjoerd Knibbeler
| 1981 | born Weert/NL |
| 2004 | BA study ‘Media & Culture’, University of Amsterdam; |
| major ‘filmstudies’, minor ‘art history’ | |
| 2005 | participant summerproject ‘Re_Cultivation’, SICE/ Sarajevo International Cultural Exchange; |
| Sarajevo / Bosnia and Hercegovina | |
| present |
BA study Photography at School of the Arts, Utrecht/NL |
Installation 'Sleeping guest'
Sjoerd Knibbeler's installation ‘Sleeping guest’ grew out of a photo Knibbeler took of himself during the night of February 22nd - 23rd, 2006 between 11.37 PM and 06.30 AM, while he was asleep. Knibbeler will project a slide of that image onto a mattress. In addition, during the course of this presentation he will add a new picture each day, taken with more normal exposure during the night before, again of himself sleeping. On one occasion, Knibbeler will even spend the night in his installation at Het Plafond.
Thus, this project is sort of a self portrait during a most intimate activity: sleep.
Knibbeler ‘exposes himself’: exhibitionism?
We look at it: voyeurism?
Time and in between
For his 'self portrait asleep' Knibbeler used an exposure of almost seven hours – an exposure of 1/60 second would result into 1.486.800 images! Normally, taking a picture, your camera 'looks' only one short ‘split second’: just 1/60 - 1/500 second – long enough for a razor 'sharp' image. Un-still, blurred images are usually thrown out, since photography's aim is to freeze Life, i.e. freeze 'movement'. The impression of 'movement' can be attained by film. Film doesn't actually show movement, but rather suggests it by offering 24 'stills' per second. Our eyes and brains are unable to perceive these 24 images per second separately. Anything in between these 24 images is not recorded, and lost forever...
Sleep
During sleep there is hardly any movement. One lies still... almost. Hardly any 'life' is visible, it is just inside you, invisible. In 1963, Andy Warhol made his first film, ‘Sleep’, featuring his lover John Giorno - asleep. 'Sleep'offers an intriguing paradox: a five hour film with hardly any action, and any small movement hardly noticeable for any viewer - even if you succeed in watching with concentration that long...
Knibbeler's approach is totally opposite: he made his camera observe himself for seven hours, in full concentration and without interruprions. No single moment was lost. The camera recorded still-ness, plus each movement, however small, and captured all that in a single image. An 'un-still' image? An image of 'movement'? Each and every movement is visible in one glance, but their chronology remains hidden.
Exposing and looking
To expose any person while asleep is one thing. Exposing yourself while asleep another. Are we presented here with a carefully 'posed' self portrait, or with the documentation of a 'performance'? Knibbeler: “For a normal portrait it is possible to 'pose' - that takes just a few seconds at most. 'Posing' for seven hours is impossible - you can only be your original self. However, in this picture 'I' is not important; I just wanted to find out how far I could push the limits of photography. By the way, how do you sleep yourselves?"
Oops! An impertinent question? Would we be willing to be observed while asleep? 'Expose' ourselves? Embarassing! And how do we feel while looking at Knibbeler asleep? Embarrassed? Just how much does he really show of himself? Not 'posed', and thus his 'original self'? Yet we hardly see him... Is it really him anyway? Look for yourself!
Take a look at Het Plafond
Het Plafond has no regular opening hours, but opens up to the sidewalk at Gedempte Zalmhaven through a huge window. Sjoerd Knibbeler's installation will thus be visible day and night. However, the projected image will only get fully clear after dusk: during 'sleeping time' it will gradually 'appear'. So: pass by and take a look then as well...
© Guus Vreeburg, 060603
Programme
| June 3rd, 8 PM | opening of the installation – you are MOST WELCOME! |
| June 3rd - July 1st | ongoing projection; in addition Knibbeler will add one photo each day, taken the night before, of himself asleep. |
| June 24th, | Sjoerd Knibbeler will spend the night in his installation at Het Plafond |
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as of 11 PM |
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| July 1st, 8 PM | closing down of the installation – private meeting |