Jan van Egmond - Art - Jan van Egmond

2019

In Strijd / In Conflict
A Nuclear Board Game

This nuclear board game is designed for the weeklong cultural program After Hiroshima: Cultural Responses to the Atomic Bomb. This program aims to remind us of the continued presence of the current atomic age through lectures, workshops, performance art and other cultural responses. The In Strijd board game is based on an appendix of my Petrov Memorial Newspaper project and I am excited to have developed it to a presentable version, to be played in September 2019 at Literair Café De Graanrepubliek. The following text describes the game in further detail:

"This quick-paced war game (2 – 6 players) puts you in charge of your country in the face of a nuclear conflict with a neighbouring island. With a nuclear arsenal at your disposal, it is your duty to protect your people. Are you able to both emerge victorious and maintain leadership in such roaring times? Will you become a loved dictator or a deposed democrat? Come play and make history!"

This work was presented in collaboration with Galerie Block C and Literair Café De Graanrepubliek, made possible with support from Kunstraad Groningen en Mondriaan Fonds.

2018

Petrov Memorial Newspaper @ Bevrijdingsfestival Overijssel 2018

Petrov Memorial Newspaper

On the night of September 26th, 1983, mankind unknowingly faced the prospect of World War III, and all that stood between them was Stanislav Petrov. As commanding officer of the Russian ICBM-warning system he was to validate the launch of five American missiles, knowing full well the consequences of his decision. Despite all odds, Petrov whisked the world away from nuclear devastation.

The Petrov Memorial Newspaper (NL: Petrov Herdenkingscourant) is published one year after Petrov's death in May 2017. It is the starting point for my artistic research concerning the public's perception of today's nuclear threat. Together with Het Langhuis I will present the Petrov Memorial Newspaper at Bevrijdingsfestival Overijssel 2018. See the teaser.pdf below for a first impression, see images for the 3D collages featured in the Newspaper. The public presentation was made possible in collaboration with Kunstruimte Het Langhuis and Bevrijdingsfestival Overijssel 2018, and with financial support from the Cultuurfonds Vernieuwing en Innovatie of the Gemeente Zwolle.