We have all experienced the weird, dull feeling of a sleeping limb or arm. Without even having to think, we are usually aware of all our faculties, where each one of our body parts is located or placed. Our arm might be resting on the couch rail, or our feet dangling in the air. The body in a normal condition is a ‘corps vécu’ (a lived body), a term by the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty. But when your arm is asleep, your limb seems to be a lifeless substance. The arm is biologically still yours, but you cannot feel it or experience with it. It seems to be the arm of a stranger. De Slapende Arm is a reaction to the sedentary life, to human beings becoming less and less active physically.
About the Artist
Marlous van der Sloot (Netherlands, b.1986) born in Culemborg and based in Den Haag, The Netherlands, graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts in the Netherlands. Her work developed towards the perception of senses, and she sees her photography as a criticism on the alienation of the human being. Her works have been shown in numerous exhibitions and festivals including the Voies Off festival at the Recontres d’Arles (2010/2011), PANL #17, Fotofestival Naarden, and Slideluck Potshow. Her works have also been shown in publications including Beaux Arts Magazine in 2012 (France), “The Big Ideas of 2012” in Adbusters #99 (USA), and “Sterven om daarna eindelijk te kunnen leven” in Den Haag Centraal (2011). She has won awards such as Competition “werk in uitvoering” at Pulchri Studio (2010), and done photographic work for Nederlands Dans Theater, Me Studio and De Cultuurbrouwerij.