Two Meter
measuring tape, 5.5 × 2 × 1 cm, 4 × 2 × 1 cm
Two tape measures, each a metre long, have each been cut up into one hundred little pieces of exactly one centimetre. The loose pieces have been glued onto each other, thereby forming two little towers. Due to the difference in the thickness of the tape measures, the towers are of unequal height, although they represent exactly the same length. Measuring is one of the very first things that happens to humans as soon as they are born. It is seen, somewhat unjustly, as a form of objective, pure knowledge. With this work, Nuyten provides a playful commentary on our world’s obsession with measuring.
Courtesy: Upstream Gallery Amsterdam
Photo: Gert-Jan van Rooij
a.o. Sanders Collection, private collection