Bas Jan Ader 2

Bas Jan Ader let himself fall out of trees, off roofs, and into this canal. He also made himself cry in front of the camera. In his films the discomfort is very apparent. I like the tragic, melodramatic element in his deliberately hurting himself and not enjoying it, and somehow managing to make it look like an accident. He reminds me of a sad clown or a fallen aerialist. He eventually perished in a small boat on the ocean - only the boat was found - the final and ultimate misadventure.


A re-enactment of Bas Jan Ader's canal piece. It's a shame that the Serpentine is not as deep as the Amsterdam canals, but in a way this makes it almost funnier.

Bas Jan Ader 1

Tears and snot are falling. They remind me of Ian Davenport's paintings. Or should that be vice versa?

Susan Derges

Drops, tears, falling, rising, suspense.

I love the way in which every drop contains a tiny representation of this woman's face. Susan Derges used a machine utilising the properties of light, sound and gravity to create these drops, making visible he laws of physics.