Phi and Laurine

Subtle alienation is the trademark of artist duo Sander Breure and Witte van Hulzen. They select their subject, zoom in on it, turn it on its side and add new elements, forcing viewers to look afresh at what at first seemed ordinary and natural. One of their film installations combines news footage of refugees with scenes from a deathly still Utoya, the Norwegian island where right-wing extremist Anders Breivik killed 69 members of the Workers’ Youth League in 2011. In one of their performances, they used official statistical data to dissect the average Dutch household, with actors acting out everyday drama. In , the artists attempt to get to the heart of the matter by digging deep rather than casting a wide net. The result is an exhaustive and multilayered portrait of two lovers – or so it appears. The camera gets up so close that we start to feel almost embarrassed, but the digging continues. Home movies lay bare the lovers’ childhoods, and microscopic shots of cellular material, medical research and CAT scans explore bodies. It turns out that in addition to being lovers, Phi and Laurine are actors. Whether we are really sharing in their reality remains unclear.