EYE CONTRACTS

Monday, September 5th 2022. I exit my front door and step out onto the sidewalk, pushing a bulky old TV unit, stacked on top of a cabinet, strapped to a small handtruck. Cables and adapters extend from the back, held together by tie wraps, connected to my iPhone.

I make a month-long pilgrimage through the streets, parks and subways of Amsterdam. Showing my short films to any stranger willing to follow his or her curiosity and take a seat. (There's a wooden chair also strapped to the front of my cabinet.) We talk about art, about life and love and death. I ask my new friends to donate, to help me make more short films - who knows even a feature. 

The filmmaker is present and crowdfunding becomes performance art. When wonder-struck passers-by decide to become mini-patrons, I ask them to stare into the portrait lens of my Nikon FE2 – and formalize our Eye Contract.

My Eye Contracts project has continued to evolve. Four years since the original campaign it consists of a group of about 75 supporters who contribute on a monthly basis and enjoy the first fruits of my artistic labors. Whether it's invitations to premiere parties, surprise screenings of cinema classics, performance projects that cannot afford to wait for funding, or other opportunities to escape the algorithm – Eye Contracts has become the first audience and community where I give back what has been given to me.