Guido van der Werve. Nummer zeven (The clouds are more beautiful from above)

Produced in 2006, Nummer zeven is a key piece in the work of Dutch practitioner  Guido van der Werve (Papendrecht, The Netherlands, 1977). Triggered by a childhood memory, the short video deals with the possibility of failure that is inherent to the creative process. Indeed when he was a child, van der Werve used to look at the starry sky and dream to be able to leave the Earth. Now we see him in his study, all busy with the construction of a space rocket with everyday objects. If on one hand the piece questions the fragility of artists, it also exalts their ability to play with everyday circumstances and turn them into extraordinary events. Finally, from a symbolic point of view, the rocket evokes a radical rupture with tradition and the desire to create new imaginaries – all elements that, if we wanted to find a direct connection to the universe of Picasso, would be present in the experiences of the historical avant-gardes and, among them, the cubist imaginary. Nummer zeven is part of LOOP’s curated selection on outer space and its symbolic drifts.