Sunset in Delft is a sculpture that reenacts the everyday phenomenon of the sun sinking into the horizon, and it does so, inside of a city. This massive glowing body of light has been placed on the water, precisely at the crossing of three canals in the idyllic town of Delft – the place where scientist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek and painter Johannes Vermeer possibly met, while pioneering experiments with Optics in the 17th century. The 360º panoramic view of this sun sinking on water subverts the usual perspective of the celestial star moving over the horizon.
Sunset in Delft lingered for three evenings, inviting for a durational experience. The public was instigated to see, walk around it, relish, and perhaps feel its warmth–therefore, to be in the present. As philosopher Byung-Chul Han writes: “What we experience today as acceleration is only one of the symptoms of temporal dispersal. Today’s temporal crisis is caused by a dyschronicity which leads to various temporal disturbances and irritations. (…)The feeling that life is accelerating is really the experience of a time that is whizzing without a direction. (…) it is the atomization of time which is responsible for dyschronicity. It is also the reason for the feeling that time passes much more quickly than it used to. Due to the temporal dispersal, no experience of duration is possible.”
Sunset in Delft is a collaboration between Ludmila Rodrigues and Mike Rijnierse, produced by Highlight Delft – festival which, despite being cancelled due to health measures, has made possible to present the Sunset in Delft between November 18-20, 2021. Read more on: www.highlightdelft.nl/program/in2021/sunset-in-delft/
Mike and Ludmila have been collaborating since 2011, sharing a fascination for the ways human perception is constructed. Their works activate the public to navigate with their senses and to re-learn how to see, hear and feel. With Sunset in Delft, Ludmila Rodrigues and Mike Rijnierse are selected artists of We Are Europe.
Sunset in Delft is supported by LucoLed, ProVlot, Stroom Den Haag, Jolly Roger boats, Publi air and TodaysArt Festival. 3D visualizations by Rob Bothof.
Special thanks to Donny Koolmees, Remco van der Velden, Teun Verkerk, and all the Highlight Delft team who made it possible; to Toon Kennedy and Jelmer for coming up with fantastic solutions on water; to Jan van Heijn and Natasja van der Vlist, from ProVlof for their generosity; to Olof van Winden from TodaysArt for trusting the project; and to Ingrid Rollema, Sofia Chionidou, René Bakker, Louis Braddock Clarke, and all the friends and strangers who visited and shared their photos.
