Experimental Jetset
Portikus Records #1
2022

Tote bags

Edition of 50 per size

Invited by Portikus to create a series of merch-like multiples, Amsterdam-based collective Experimental Jetset decided to re-imagine Portikus as a fictional record label. (After all, a record label is a fitting metaphor for Portikus – looking at the meticulously numbered, chronological list of past exhibitions on Portikus’ website, it’s hard not to be reminded of the way record labels such as Factory Records have been cataloging and numbering their releases). 

For this project, Experimental Jetset turned the exterior architecture of Portikus into a stairs-like motif – a graphic emblem to be screen-printed on various items. The first part of the series was launched on October 20, 2022, coinciding with the launch of HOW(EVER) Portikus Art Book Festival, and consisted of a set of three limited-edition tote-bags, referring to three formats of records (12 inch, 10 inch, and 7-inch).

Regarding the slogan ‘Portikus Records’ it is important to realise that the word ‘records’ is not only a (plural) noun, but also a verb. Read in that way, the phrase ‘Portikus Records’ can also be understood as ‘Portikus is recording’, as in: Portikus is documenting, is archiving, is chronicling, is measuring time, etc. In that sense, ‘Portikus Records’ can be read as a statement of intent, a plan of action.

Experimental Jetset is an Amsterdam-based graphic design collective, founded in 1997 by (and still consisting of) Marieke Stolk, Erwin Brinkers and Danny van den Dungen. Focusing mainly on printed matter and site-specific installations, EJ have worked on projects for a wide variety of institutes – including Paradiso (Amsterdam), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Centre Pompidou, PostNL (Dutch Post), Whitney Museum of American Art, Visual Culture Research Center (Kyiv), GES-2 (V–A–C), Sternberg Press, and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Solo exhibitions include ‘Kelly 1:1’ (Casco Utrecht, 2002), ‘Two or Three Things I Know About Provo’ (W139 Amsterdam, 2011), ‘Two or Three Things / The Brno Edition’ (Moravian Gallery Brno, 2012), ‘Word-Things in Time-Space’ (Riot Ghent, 2016), ‘Provo Station’ (GfZK Leipzig, 2016), ’Superstructure’ (RMIT Melbourne, 2018), ‘Alphabet Reform Committee’ (Volksbühne Pavilion Berlin, 2018), and ‘Full Scale False Scale’ (MoMA, 2019).