Wild Bet focuses on gambling as a socio-psychological phenomenon. The artists saw a connection between the chances gamblers take in the hope of monetary luck and the gamble that migrants take when they leave their home in the hope of a better life.
Gil & Moti found two different gambling scenes in their home city of Rotterdam. The installation is inspired by the commercial gambling halls with electronic roulette tables where players bet against one another. These halls are known for their enticing aesthetic of fake gold and shimmering light, but also shrewd marketing tactics like offering a free breakfast or buffet. The artists began an intimate collaboration with Shari, who came to the Netherlands 24 years ago to bring her son back but couldn’t afford the return home. From the many encounters, they create a stratified portrait of life on the edge of Dutch society, where the sometimes-stifling experience of exclusion and loneliness is punctuated by glimpses of happiness in the gambling hall.
In addition to the opulence of commercial gambling halls, gamblers in Rotterdam can play cards in brown-café back rooms. Gil & Moti staged such a back room, including a glass wall behind which visitors can watch the card game. During the exhibition, this room is spontaneously activated at unannounced moments: together with immigrants they met during their field research in Rotterdam, Gil & Moti invite visitors for a game of cards.
Wild Bet ,installation, sculpture, video, photography ,performance , painting. Exhibited at Tent, Rotterdam Made possible with the generous support of: Mondriaan Fund, O&O, CBK Rotterdam.
Wild Bet, 2019, exhibition view TENT, Rotterdam, wood, glass, skai leather, aluminium, pencil on paper, found cards, LED screens, eight channel video, HD, each 5’:00’’, carpet, wallpaper, bar chairs, photo Aad Hoogendoorn
Wild Bet, 2019,exhibition view TENT, Rotterdam, photo Aad Hoogendoorn
Wild Bet, 2019,detail; wood, glass, found cards, lamps, photo Aad Hoogendoorn
Wild Bet, 2019, detail; pencil on paper, LED screen, photo Aad Hoogendoorn
Wild Bet, 2019, detail; pencil on paper, LED screen, one of eight channel video, HD, 5’:00’’.
Wild Bet and The Card Players, 2019, installation view photo Aad Hoogendoorn
The Card Players, 2019, glass front, table, chairs, lamp, wallpaper, play cards, unannounced performance, photo Kiki Petratou
The Card Players, 2019, glass front, table, chairs, lamp, wallpaper, play cards, unannounced performance, photo Kiki Petratou
The Card Players, 2019, oil on canvas, 140 x 180 cm
