"Discomfort"

exhibition 10 years KunstNonStop "Discomfort", Heartgallery in Hengelo

When the jigsaw is used in an improper or unexpected way, what reveals itself? According to Heidegger, such a disruption discloses the tool in the mode of presence-a-hand (Vorhandenheit), the state in which equipment ceases to be seamlessly ready-to-hand and instead becomes an object that 'occurs' before us.

In other words: When you use a jigsaw in the wrong way and it stops working smoothly, something interesting happens. The tool suddenly stands out-you notice it as an object instead of just using it without thinking. Heidegger calls this shift presence-at.hand (Vorhandenheit): the moment when a tool that normally 'just works' becomes something you have to pay attention to.