Mindexpanders, Haus-Rucker-Co, Kunsthal Rotterdam,  29 april -3 september 2023
Curator: Charlotte Martens / design & videoproduction: Yvo Zijlstra, Antenna-men
Camera: Henk Leurink / Soundscape: Charly van Rest, Silent M studio
Exhibition production: Hylke Bijker / Sign and printwork: Swoon
Exhibition photography: Marco De Swart.

Haus-Rucker-Co | 1967-1972
In 1969 we wrote: ‘Future is fearsome for a lot of contemporaries. Saturated with horrible robots, mysterious rays and manmade catastrophes.
Future as we, Haus-Rucker-Co feel about, is light and yellow, like vanilla ice cream. Refreshing, good tasting and soft…..’
Vanilla Future... a label for our activities at the end of the 1960. We did not want to expand consciousness by using drugs, but by developing new, unprecedented spaces, objects and facilities.

Connected with the intention to promote relations between individuals and their correlation to society.
Mindexpander, Giant Billiard, Pneumacosm, Balloon for 2, Yellow Heart and Environment Transformers are part of this programme, designed as counterpoints in everyday life.
With their exotic performance they exude an atmosphere of upraise, change and the possibility to structure leisure time.

Electric Skins | 1968
These artificial skins and inflatable objects contain electronic sensors and transmitters that allow users to experience sensory liberation and interactions with other users.

Balloon for two | 1967
We create devices that mediate and intensify contact between two people.
This generally happens by means of expanding physical and mental abilities.
We want to increase sensitivity.
Our balloons help you to discover an unknown feeling of calm, security, relaxation, and love.
Our balloons protect love. Just go inside.
You are going on a journey together with someone you love.
Into your inner space, like astronauts. You will think better and live better.
You will do everything better because you are calmer and more relaxed.
You can set up the balloon at home. Next to the side table or over by the TV.
It is not demanding. You really need it!

Environment Transformers | 1968
The self-evidence with which we register everyday objects and processes, but no longer see them, makes the world simpler than it really is.
Through this passive perception we lose touch with our environment and life becomes meaningless.
These devices activate sensory perception with natural optical-acoustic means.

Mindexpanders | 1967-68
A bucket seat for two people, a man and a woman, with a PVC balloon on top that reaches above the heads.
A capsule that propels the user into a new perception of a reality called ‘Superception’.
The balloon pops down and you set the clock.
Your eyes follow the red and blue lines of the balloon.
The inhaled air flows slowly through your body and your heart rate slows down.
The person next to you breathes just like you, slowly and very evenly.
You forgot the colour of your partners hair.
Limbs become weightless; you no longer feel your body.
Everything starts to flow. You only think about breathing.
You feel like you are being breathed.
Pink dots circle before your eyes.
Your eyes wander to the rhythm of the breath.
Along red and blue lines.
The lines become the beat, the beat becomes the breath.
The circle begins to close.
It makes you happy.
The journey has begun.

Oasis No 7 | 1972
Oasis No 7 was a temporary architectural intervention for Documenta 5 in Kassel, Germany.
Conceived as an emergency exit, leading people to another realm.
Theatrically staged as an artificial oasis, the orb contained two plastic palm trees, a hammock, and a red flag.
By temporarily extending the institutional space of the museum beyond its architectural confines, the experiences of the visitors were altered,
thus questioning the artificial demarcation between natural and man-made environments.

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Francis’s dramatic weekend (in the year 2170)
Francis has had a tiring week and is looking forward to a weekend to recover. His apartment is not very big because living space has become expensive due to the constantly growing urban population. Francis had originally planned to take a short trip to the Caribbean this weekend. But these are uncertain times in which terrorist attacks cannot be ruled out anywhere. He therefore decides to stay in town and take an artificial mini vacation. A device for this has been around for a while and can be found in many private apartments. The Traveller consists of a collapsible spherical air-supported chamber that acts as a temporary extension to an apartment. A Traveller protrudes from one of the windows of the apartment, into the open space in front of the facade. Recently, the temporary use of open urban spaces by private individuals has been legalised, so during weekends residential streetscapes are enlivened by a plethora of spherical structures hovering in front of buildings.

Giant Blilliard | 1970
A giant billiard ball is 50 times larger than a regular billiard ball.
Giant Billard is an object of interaction, with moving actors and actresses who are enjoying a strange exercise as its main feature.
How do our physical environments affect the way we interact with other people?

De optimistische visie van Haus-Rucker-Co in een tijd van crisis
Plezier en spel vormen de ingrediënten van het werk van Haus-Rucker-Co uit deze periode. Een visueel prikkelende presentatie met een verzameling buitengewone stukken die prachtig zijn tentoongesteld. En welk beter gebouw is er dan de Kunsthal van Rem Koolhaas om het werk van HRC te presenteren en na afloop van het bezoek je de vraag te stellen wat de hedendaagse idealen van de architect en ontwerper zouden moeten zijn? Wellicht kan het werk van HRC op zijn beurt weer bijdragen aan het verbreden van conventionele denkkaders binnen de architectuur en het vrijmaken van experimentele denk- en maakruimte binnen de opleidingen. Zamp Kelp benadrukt dat het belangrijkste is dat de nieuwe generatie architectuurstudenten de hoop en het optimisme niet verliest om innovatief te denken. In dit opzicht acht ik het werk van HRC actueler dan ooit.

Lees het volledige artikel van Karin Christof op Archined.nl