At night the knives are sharpened

Kinetic work, plaster, wood, motors, transformer, 364cm x 165cm x 57cm

At Night the Knives Are Sharpened is a kinetic installation that destroys itself over time.
Seven plaster dentures appear to smile, but they grind continuously, each with its own speed and force. Through the grinding, white dust falls down from the dentures, causing the work to slowly wear down and destroy itself. The grinding is a metaphor for built up and held back tension that does not express itself directly, but slowly and destructively finds its way out, both in the body and in society.

Roos van Geffen: “I have a full, overstimulated brain, I am sensitive to bright light and all stimuli and sounds come in strongly. You can call that a neurodivergent brain, but it may also be a logical physical response to an overstimulated, over digitalised world, in which stimuli constantly build up through screens, public space and social structures. I was curious how this continuous flow of information and stimuli settles in the body and what traces it leaves behind. When does tension find an outlet, and when does it turn inward in a destructive way? What happens when processing does not take place, not only individually but also collectively? This artistic research led to the three works At Night the Knives Are Sharpened, Overexposed and Leib. It is part of my ongoing research into how emotions, tension and desire are stored in the body and set into motion.”

Here you can see the work in motion: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVjkYbbjB1b/

During a residency at Buitenplaats Doornburgh, in collaboration with other artists and scientists, a dialogue developed around overstimulation and neurodiversity. The starting questions were: are we collectively overstimulated, and what can we learn about processing stimuli from neurodivergent people?

At Night the Knives Are Sharpened was shown in the exhibition Prikkel, about overstimulation in the complexity of contemporary society and how we adapt to it, from October 6, 2023 until January 7, 2024 at Buitenplaats Doornburgh, a museum where art and science come together.

Other artists and scientists: Johannes Bellinkx, Margriet van Breevoort, Roos van Geffen, Silvana Hurtado Dianderas, Vinny Jones, Anouk Keizer, Molly Palmer, Boukje Schweigman, Deanne Spek, Shertise Solano and Odile van Stuijvenberg worked together in a cross disciplinary collaboration conducting a shared research into sensory processing in general and in relation to neurodivergence, organized by Schweigman&, HKU and UMCU,

technical support: Uif Putters

photography: Gert Jan van Rooij

made possible by the generous support of  Mondriaan Fund