In 'Justice beyond Revenge' artist Robert Glas invites you to question your views on justice. The prevailing focus on severe punishment seems almost unchallenged but was not always so obvious. Until the mid-80s there was a lively public and political debate in the Netherlands about which response to criminal behavior best serves society in the long term.
Critical thinking
The leader of critical thinking about the usefulness of punishment was the Rotterdam legal scholar and abolitionist Louk Hulsman. He argued that criminal law, and especially prison sentences, often do not solve social problems but rather fuel them. With functional criticism and concrete proposals he wanted to make a society without a punishing government conceivable. With two video installations, both created in collaboration with experts by experience, Glas once again fuels this discussion that was actively forgotten.
Farewell to Criminal Law
The seed for both works lies in two events that took place at the same time. In June 1986, Hulsman retires from Erasmus University and publishes 'Farewell to Criminal Law', a plea for the abolition of the current system. In the same month, architect Carel Weeber has his students build a 1:1 test model of a prison cell. While Hulsman's plea will prove to be the swan song of Dutch abolitionism, Weeber's vision proves to be trendsetting for Dutch prison design.
Feeding the discussion
The leader of critical thinking about the usefulness of punishment was the Rotterdam legal scholar and abolitionist Louk Hulsman. He argued that criminal law, and especially prison sentences, often do not solve social problems but rather fuel them. With functional criticism and concrete proposals he wanted to make a society without a punishing government conceivable. With two video installations, both created in collaboration with experts by experience, Glas once again fuels this discussion that was actively forgotten.
The seed for both works lies in two events that took place at the same time. In June 1986, Hulsman retires from Erasmus University and publishes 'Farewell to Criminal Law', a plea for the abolition of the current system. In the same month, architect Carel Weeber has his students build a 1:1 test model of a prison cell. While Hulsman's plea will prove to be the swan song of Dutch abolitionism, Weeber's vision proves to be trendsetting for Dutch prison design.
Glas has been questioning various aspects of law for some time. For example, he previously looked at the asylum procedure, the use of biometrics as a means of identification and algorithms for predicting criminal behavior. Glas investigates the implicit violence that such government instruments contain. He translates his research into video installations in which he allows opposing perspectives and interests to interact.
Practical
On all Fridays between 11 March and 21 April you can visit this exhibition for free. TENT is open on Fridays between 11:00 and 21.00:XNUMX.