Alain Snyers "Nederlands leren"

‘For me, the language difference between France and the Netherlands became the occasion for placing two realities over against each other; in this 'face-à-face' one personal identity is constantly being thrown back to the other. We grow closer together by learning the language - 'seen as the bearer of communication'. To clearly explain this pedagogical situation, this installation relies on a linguistic method ('Supradidac') from the Dutch Institute in Paris. Using this method as a point of departure, however, I impose a change that is connected to everyday reality by means of the audiovisual information in this work. The action attempts to imitate the process of learning a language - the longing for communication. This longing is in danger of remaining unfulfilled, however, if it is communicated within the context of the city, because in the city the need for communication breaks down under the many forms of aggression that the city commits against the individual.’ (Alain Snyers, invitation De Appel, February/March 1980.)