We Can Talk About Something Else
An exploration of the vulnerability and pleasure of conversation through media art
LI-MA collaborates with Loods6 for a group exhibition where video works and installations invite reflection on the act of communication – in all its discomfort, depth, and humour. From casual encounters to charged conversations: how do we communicate, what do we express between the lines, and what remains unspoken?
Opening:
Friday, 9 May 2025
Start: 19:00
Rediscovering Dialogue Through Media Art
In today’s hypermediated world, a good conversation is never a given. What happens when we speak – or don't? What do we say between the lines, and what remains unsaid? The immersive, collaborative exhibition We Can Talk About Something Else offers a timely reconsideration of conversation. Presented by Loods6 in partnership with LI-MA, the exhibition features a curated selection of video works and installations that explore communication across emotional, social, and technological lines. From the intimacy of parent-child exchange to broader cultural commentary, each work asks what it means to truly listen – and be heard.
LI-MA’s collection served as a starting point for this exhibition, with curators Sanneke Huisman and Emile Weisz (Loods6) working closely with the artists and spatial designers to shape an immersive experience where media art becomes both subject and vehicle of dialogue.
The featured artists – Lernert & Sander, Luna Maurer & Roel Wouters, Jonas Ohlsson & Magnus Monfeldt, Sander Breure & Witte van Hulzen, Matthew Lax, and Benjamin Li – confront these themes with vulnerability and insight. Their works demonstrate how identity, family dynamics, cultural background, and even the tools we use (from smartphones to video) shape the way we connect.
Furthermore, this exhibition exemplifies LI-MA’s mission to not only preserve but activate media art in new and meaningful ways. By bringing historical and contemporary works from its collection into conversation with urgent themes and new audiences, LI-MA reaffirms the role of media art as a tool for inquiry, empathy, and imagination.
From Screen to Space: Designing Encounters
The exhibition is staged in the Bagagehal of Loods6, with a scenography designed by Sander Plug and Paulien Bremmer. Their spatial design transforms the industrial venue into an inviting landscape of images, architecture, and movement. Screens become surfaces of exchange, while installations encourage participation and reflection.
A central area in the exhibition is reserved for talks, workshops, and performances, creating an evolving space where visitors are not just viewers, but part of the conversation. This programming is key to the exhibition’s dynamic – it’s not only about what’s shown, but what unfolds in between.
Programme Overview
Lernert & Sander, Hoe vertel ik het mijn ouders, 2009, 50'15". In collection: LI-MA
A nine-part series by Lernert Engelberts and Sander Plug, in collaboration with Limboland, in which artists explain to their parents what their work is about.
Luna Maurer & Roel Wouters, Emoji is all we have, 2023, installation. In collection: LI-MA
A multi-channel video installation and/or film series reflecting on our current state of digital culture.
Magnus Monfeldt & Jonas Ohlsson, For Our Children's Children, 2024, 29'56". In collection: LI-MA
Two artist friends and their children engage in role play to challenge rigid old patterns of the patriarchy.
Matthew Lax, Gay Men's Book Club, 51'.
A table of gay men with diverse ages, races and backgrounds gather in a Los Angeles bookstore to discuss Olufemi O. Taiwo’s book Elite Capture and how once radical concepts, like queerness and identity politics, have been co-opted by hegemony.
Sander Breure and Witte van Hulzen, …appears to be regular in form and authentic, 2022, installation.
Based on a scene from the Persian book Conference of the Birds, a group of birds gather to find a new leader.
Campaign image: Eva Burema
