TENT, Rotterdam

10.02 – 23.0.2009

Curated by Bik Van der Pol

“Never odd or even” can be read from left to right and right to left. The word palindrome – which is what this fascinating phenomenon is called – comes from Greek language, where “palin” means “to return”, “to go back on your own trace”, and “dromos” means “the way”. Palindromes date back at least to 79 A.D., when a Latin word square – a sort of graffiti – was found at Herculaneum, buried by ash in that year. Palindromes require quite some flexibility from the reader; while the correct sequence of characters is there, the spacing may not be. It works with numbers as well – palindromes can be formed from almost any number by adding the original number to its reverse form. For example, 47 is not a palindrome. If you add 47 + 74 (the reverse of the original number), you get 121, which is a palindrome. And, last but not least: they are also connected to the origin of life. Palindrome sequences are required for the recombination of DNA molecules. This show takes “neveroddoreven” as its title, because – as with art and as with most group shows – you can invest time in thinking about what it may mean, as you can try to construct implied meaning from spatially organized relations. Or, you can perhaps think about the game with words or numbers that functions backwards as well as forwards.

(This text is generated through a combination of sources, such as Lycos Retriever, the dictionary and discussions with and between the artists in this show and Bik Van der Pol.)

Isa Andreu:

Hadar Bernstein:

Rachel Carey:

Cornelia Heusser:

Aline Keller:

Anke Kuipers:

Esperanza Rosales:

David Stamp:

Joshua Thies:

Kathrin Maria Wolkowicz:

All images by E C Thomson (edward@edwardthomson.net)