Navid Nuur is leaving a message in the Oude Kerk for people living a hundred years from now: only in 2125, a time span of a hundred years, will all the vases have left the church and When Doubt Turns into Destiny be completed.
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When Doubt turns into Destiny
A large bellows blows air, a suspended transparent cloth refracts sunlight, a pile of pebbles shrinks. Nuur invites us to experience the Oude Kerk sensorially, reflecting on man's being in the world. When Doubt Turns into Destiny exudes the idea that man, despite all his knowledge and skill, is a transient being, not existing for much longer than he does.
2125
An important part of the exhibition does not come to an end until 2125. Over the months, Nuur models a series of a hundred vases in the Oude Kerk. The clay for this he grinds with soil and grit from all parts of the city of Amsterdam. The vases will be stored in the IJzeren Kapel, the city's vault from 1515 to 1892. Each year, a vase is given to a recipient in exchange of a (financial) compensation. Navid Nuur is leaving a message in the Oude Kerk for people living a hundred years from now: only in 2125, a time span of a hundred years, all the vases will have left the church, and it will be the moment When Doubt Turns into Destiny is completed.
Playful alchemist
Navid Nuur (Tehran, 1976) is a rising star in the international art world. He has been characterised as 'a playful alchemist'. His way of working is investigative, always operating from wonder. He creates images from the material, of which he makes full use of the possibilities as well as the limitations. This often involves processes. Solo exhibitions were held at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht, among others. Nuur received many awards for his work, including the Royal Prize for Free Painting (2011) and the Discoveries Prize at Art Basel in Hong Kong (2013).
