There is, then, a set of super-feelings. These feelings extend out and about us; as the long, floating tentacles of the jelly-fish reach out (...) They are not of different material, extraneous, as physical arms and legs are extraneous to the gray matter of the directing brain. The super-feelers are part of the super-mind, as the jelly-fish feelers are the jelly-fish itself, elongated in fine threads.

super feelings breathes, moves, shivers, grows and expands. It sees, hears, smells and grasps. It is a living exhibition which stretches out its tentacles and feels around. Throughout Autumn 2022, Jota Mombaça, Paola Siri Renard, Thuy-Han Nguyen-Chi and Kate Cooper will take over de Appel’s Aula.

Nine months ago, on a misty January morning, the participants of this year’s Curatorial Programme met for the first time. Melissa Appleton, Monika Georgieva, Ka-Tjun Hau and Chala Itai Westerman assembled in the aquarium-like auditorium of de Appel’s current home, built in 1969 in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Searching for a state of shared consciousness that enabled them to sense collectively and dream wildly, they submerged themselves in the writings of poets such as H.D., Audre Lorde and Diane di Prima. What would happen if the contours of a poem and those of an exhibition blur and eventually melt into one?

The manifestation of this process is super feelings, a four-part exhibition, event programme and reader which unfolds throughout the autumn months of September, October and November 2022. The artists are each invited to contribute a ten-day episode during this period. They will colour daylight blue, create a landscape of sand dunes, dig up fossils, dive to the bottom of the ocean and deep into the human body. Each distinct phase is launched with an event in which the participating artists invite multidisciplinary collaborators for a performance, reading or concert to activate their episode.

Episodes

Episode 1: Jota Mombaça – sinking could be
Performance: Thursday 15th September 19:00
Jota Mombaça with Tessa Mars
Opening hours: Friday 16th September – Sunday 25th September 2022, 12:00–18:00

Episode 2: Paola Siri Renard – what will you be then Oneiroi? – glamour
Performance: Thursday, September 29, 19:00
Paola Siri Renard with Mira Mann
Opening Hours: Friday 30th September – Sunday 9th October 2022, 12:00–18:00

Episode 3: Thuy-Han Nguyen Chi – into the earth below, the blue blur of bones
Performance: Thursday, October 13, 19:00
Thuy-Han Nguyen-Chi with Frankie (Franziska Aigner)
Opening Hours: Friday 14th October – Sunday 23rd October 2022, 12:00–18:00

Episode 4: Kate Cooper
Screening Event: Thursday, October 27, 19:00
Kate Cooper with Rahila Haque, Temra Pavlovic and Jort van der Laan
Opening Hours: Friday 28th October – Sunday 6th November 2022, 12:00-18:00
(extended hours on Museumnacht 6th November 2022)