Spatula
Installation, objects, 2011–ongoing
What started as a symbol, became an obsession and when I look for spatulas, I see them everywhere. The spatula came from a therapy game called the “spatula game” from 20th century psychologist, Donald Winnicott. In it, a spatula is placed on a table in reach of a child. The child grabs it and starts to play. It starts to imagine the spatula transforming into something else, perhaps an airplane waved around in delight. Now that it sees an airplane, it can think of what an airplane can do, it can think through the imagined thing. So the spatula allows us to both extend our body to reach further, but also to extend our mind further because we can now think through the thing. Like a child, I too play with the spatula, morphing and transforming it, finding new associations that lead me further down the endless thinging path.
Artist's Bio:
David Bernstein (1988, San Antonio, Texas) is an artist based in Amsterdam. He combines performance, sculpture, and writing to tell stories through objects. He has presented his work internationally at Raven Row, London (2015); De Appel Art Center, Amsterdam (2015 & 2013); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2015); Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam (2015); Nomas Foundation, Rome (2014 & 2013); Performa 13, New York (2013); CAC, Vilnius (2013); and SculptureCenter, NY (2012). He is currently a resident at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht.