Empty Shop Katendrechtse Lagedijk 432
Mathew Kneebone, Shahin Afrassiabi

28. – 30.03.2025

During Het Zuid Manifest: I Love Carlos, artists Shahin Afrassiabi and Mathew Kneebone presented works in the vacant shop at Katendrechtse Lagedijk 432, once home to a beloved thrift store frequented for years by the Charlois community.

Shahin Afrassiabi's work was presented not only at Katendrechste Lagedijk 432, but also at Art Rotterdam with the large painting titled Bacon's Grin. In Charlois, two smaller paintings titled Extrapolations On a Portrait were displayed in the window of the vacant shop. In both sites, the face of Francis Bacon takes center stage.

Shahin Afrassiabi has been painting a series of paintings based on a 1976 photograph of Francis Bacon taken by Francis Goodman in Bacon’s studio. These works, somewhere between portraits, still lifes, and abstractions, extrapolate elements from the original image. By translating and distorting the photograph, Afrassiabi reflects on the nature of art itself while exploring painting’s potential as a disruptor and carrier of meaning.

Mathew Kneebone has had a longstanding collaboration with Rib. During the festival, he presented Dwaalicht, an artwork inspired by a walk through Daly City, California, during a prolonged power outage. Amid the darkness of a shuttered mall, Kneebone noticed a single jewellery stall inexplicably lit. This uncanny image inspired Dwaalicht—a glowing light bulb that appears to shine without any visible power source. The title refers to the Dutch folkloric term "dwaalicht", a ghostly atmospheric light said to mislead travellers at night.

Mathew Kneebone also contributed A Lazy Stream (2025) to The Last Terminal Radio, a four-day live broadcast from Art Rotterdam that continued into the night after the fair closed.

Shahin Afrassiabi produces works that are rooted in conceptual exploration. Within his practice, he bridges various mediums that intersect in dynamic ways. Utilizing materials such as plaster, paper, oil paint, and photography, Afrassiabi crafts sculptures, paintings, and installations. His creations defy categorization, embracing a fluidity that fosters organic discovery within his body of work. He writes, “I have always tried to remain sensitive and responsive to my environment. Both as a matter of survival, and because I couldn’t see any other way to make art. Each exhibition I have done stands on its own, separate from the next or the one before it, and they have all had a direct relationship with what interested me at the time, be it in my immediate environment, in art, in literature or history. I am the thread that runs through it all.” Afrassiabi holds an MFA from Goldsmiths College.

Mathew Kneebone’s practice is founded on research into uncertainties surrounding technology, often combining different histories, myths, and folklore. His work touches upon various media including drawing, electronics, writing, sound, and performance to reconfigure or re-contextualize certain technologies, exploring an ambivalent blend of past and present. His work has recently been exhibited at Kunstverein, Amsterdam; 019, Ghent; Extra City, Antwerp; and Cloaca Projects, San Francisco. His writing has been published in Trigger Magazine, OASE Journal for Architecture, The Bulletins of The Serving Library, Another World, Umwelten, among others. He has given talks and workshops at Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco; V2_ Lab for Unstable Media, Rotterdam; Central Saint Martins, London; Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam; San Serriffe, Amsterdam; Sitterwerk, St. Gallen; EKA Gallery, Tallinn; UEL, London. Kneebone teaches at California College of The Arts, San Francisco, where he is thesis writing supervisor.

Empty Shop Katendrechtse Lagedijk 432Mathew Kneebone, Shahin Afrassiabi

Empty Shop Katendrechtse Lagedijk 432
Mathew Kneebone, Shahin Afrassiabi