In Our Hands, 2015

For the video installation In Our Hands, Dutch artist Marjolijn Dijkman investigated hand gestures used to predict, ward off or influence the future. The final choreography includes a range of gestures from diverse sources - from spiritual to political to military - that have become removed from their original context. The double projection shows the animation of two virtual transparent hands which on one side seem to be giving directions to the visitor, while on the other side suggesting to be an extension of the body of the viewer. The accompanying sound piece is a composition made of 18 computer generated binaural tones or brainwaves, which are known to affect the mental state of the listener. The effect of these tones were discovered in 1839 by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove. In the late 20th century, they earned greater public awareness. The alternative medicine community claimed that binaural beats helped to induce relaxation, meditation, creativity and other mental states.

video fragment In Our Hands 

Marjolijn Dijkman (NL)
°1978, Nederland

In her multimedia  practice, artist Marjolijn Dijkman investigates the relationship between people and their surroundings. How do we experience reality? How do we understand the ever changing world? Dijkman also explores the human determination to interfere with and to influence the world around us. Aspects from (popular) culture, science and time come together in her work. Her oeuvre investigates traces of events in the past, present, the future, our collective narratives, historical objects and the human relationship to all these objects. Her practice is threefold: international ongoing projects, works developed in relation to specific contexts or interests and narratives and initiatives such as Enough Room for Space, an independent art organisation that she launched in 2005 in association with Maarten Vanden Eynde and which is known for its focus on experimental research projects and exhibitions. Marjolijn Dijkman lives and works in Brussels.