NIMk@Foam Pop-In #4: Lernert & Sander

September 8 - October 16, 2011

The Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk) presents, in a special videoroom in the Pop-in, each month a current work from the NIMk collection.

Natural Beauty, Lernert & Sander (NL, 2'34', 2011)

“We wanted to apply 365 layers of makeup in one day to see how much is needed to go from a natural look to an outrageous one. The whole process took 9 nine hours, during which supermodel Hannelore Knuts couldn’t move and only eat and drink through a straw. We used seven bottles of Foundation S103; two bottles of Creamy Eyes E107; three Milky Lips L205 pens; and two bottles of Blush S301. All together 228.40ml of makeup.”

Lernert & Sander are two dutch artists and friends who decided that working alone was getting boring and started collaborating on art related projects. Since their first video 'Chocolate Bunny' they've been working on commercials, leaders, art movies, documentaries and installations. Their aim is to make simple and communicative works, that takes little note of the existing border between contemporary art and commercial projects. Their highly esthetic, humorous and dedicated works are often challenging the media and its viewer, in a simple but very effective way. Their work was selected for international festivals in New York, Rio de Janeiro and Oberhausen. Lernert & Sander are nominated for the Dutch Design Awards 2011.

Sander Plug (1969) works as a freelance graphic designer and artist. He graduated in 1993 as industrial designer at the technical university in Delft and finished his Masters in Art in 2004 at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. He has exhibited in several group exhibitions in Amsterdam, Berlin and Barcelona. He is a teacher in the graduation year of the Art Academy in Utrecht.

Lernert Engelberts (1977) works as a director and writer. He made Driving Miss Palmen, a Dutch soap set in India. He was editor/writer for RE-magazine. He wrote a dramatised garden program with Arjan Ederveen which he also directed and collaborated with director Michiel van Erp in 2006 for the documentary Warm Stories. Lernert finished in 2008 his first highly critically acclaimed book of short stories Real Bad People. He publicises in the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant about art, was curator for Lost&Found, and is advisor for the Filmfund at research and development.

Both Lernert and Sander are contributors for Butt Magazine and are currently living and working in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

More works of Lernert & Sander on view in the exhibition Still/Life Dutch Contemporary Photography at FOAM, Keizersgracht, 9 September to 26 October 2011.