Petra lives in several dimensions at the same time. A white wall here and now can evoke cinematographic memories of a white wall there and then. What makes the wall echo cinema? Is it the light, the time or the place and can a photo camera register this echo?

‘Where is the cinema?

It is all around you outside,

all over the city,

that marvellous continuous performances of films and scenario’s.’

Baudrillard, 1988:56

What is the difference between working in Probe and working in a life size exhibition space?
PN:  Several site-specific installations and a maximum of three walls in an exhibition space were my reference, now I had a white box all to myself and at first this overwhelmed me. Probe provoked me to do something different than I intended to, using my material in a different way than I first planned.

What did you want to create in Probe?
PN:  I wanted to create a cinematographic surrounding with photos from my project and archive Cinecitta. Cinecitta is a series of photos in which I investigate the influence of film and media on looking at and experiencing the urban environment and its surroundings. By combining images from this archive I try to express the feeling I have walking through a city. Experiencing the city as a set. But while working on the project, trying out several photos, I felt the urge to make a piece about space. Exhibition space. How it is experienced, how space is used.

What obstacles did you run into?
PN: It was more difficult than I expected to try out different cinematographic atmospheres (which was my plan).  I printed various photos in different sizes but when I tried them out in the actual space the effect varied. Although you can be in the space (sit on your knees), make photos of the installation I found it difficult to imagine how it would work for a spectator. It was interesting to see which photos did work and made me want to have more time to try out many photos and the possibility to reflect on different installations.

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