PHOTO:Robert Glas-Before the Law

Robert Glas’ practice is an ongoing investigation into the relation between the body and the state. The emphasis lies on the constructs States deploy to decide over the status of a body and how they link this status to the physical body to control its movement over the territory. Using a variety of media Glas deals with constructs such as asylum legislation, passports, detention centers, naturalization ceremonies and deportation facilities, not only to reflect on the matter, but moreover to intervene and enforce change.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Foam Museum Archive

Robert Glas’ solo exhibition “Before the Law”, is a collaboration between Foam and NEU NOW.  Robert Glas goes to great lengths unpicking bureaucratic procedures, methods of identification and legislative inconsistencies. He went through various lawsuits in order to make and publish the images for his series “Voor Vrij Nederland” (2014-16), which is exhibited at Foam. The photographs depict interiors of detention centers for undocumented immigrants in the Netherlands. It is hard to imagine these unremarkable spaces to be the cause of extensive legal strife concerning freedom of the press. The almost clinical depiction of the rooms stands in stark contrast with the political, social and emotional implications for the people that inhabit them. Glas’ methods are conceptual and methodical. His projects are research-based and developed over longer periods of time. In “How to Motivate Someone to Leave Voluntarily” (2016), the artist explores the motivational interviewing techniques used by Dutch ‘departure supervisors’ to convince immigrants to give up their search for permanent residency and return to their home country. Through improvisation and with the help of an expert trainer from the field, the inner workings of this conversation technique were explored. While his practice is mainly concerned with Dutch legislation, Glas’ work touches upon universal sentiments of belonging and social exclusion. The film “Jurisdiction” (2015) takes a more theoretical approach to the judiciary system in relation to displacement and migration. Abstracts from Franz Kafka’s seminal text “Before the Law” (1915) accompany x-ray images of refugees hiding in the back of vehicles. The work has gained particular urgency since the increased influx of refugees in Europe.

Info: Info: Foam, Keizersgracht 609, Amsterdam, Duration: 21/7-10/9/17, Days & Hours: Mon-Wed & Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00, Thu-Fri 10:00-21:00, www.foam.org