Jan van Nuenen

Warning Petroleum Pipeline, 04:45, Color, Stereo

Special Mention

A computer animation that strikingly shows us the impact of an ever-increasing dependence on our energy- and production-based society. (Jan Schuijren on behalf of Jury)

The movement of information across the worldwide web is invisible. Bits and bytes slip soundlessly through slender cables, to arrive, in no more than a split second, at the computer for which they are meant, where they can be used again at the click of a mouse. In contrast, the movement of oil is a messy and ponderous affair, which makes huge claims on the landscape and built-up areas. Bulky, rusty pipes traverse the fields, while trucks and tankers toil slowly over roads and oceans, accompanied by the threat of pollution and explosion. Both processes have drastically changed the world, and continue to keep economic and political relations on the alert. With its black-and-white collage-like images, ‘Warning Petroleum Pipeline’ is reminiscent of art that, in the early twentieth century, was intended to depict the destructive power of the emerging heavy industry.