The Third Potential

Video Installation by Jan Adriaans, Gerwin Luijendijk, and Marianna Maruyama, 2019

Duration 22 min.

Somewhere in a wooded area of the Netherlands, three men stand attentively in front of a mental healthcare facility (their stage?), they greet everyone who enters (their choreography?), they perform a role, they ride their bikes around the campus (with props?), they follow their directors, they discuss strategies for cooperation with the neighborhood (their audience?), and they wear uniforms (costumes?). They all agree this job is different from others they have held. 

What does it mean to perform the role of security here, to perform a role that makes people feel safe? The Third Potentialfocuses on a segment of the psychiatric treatment community that is often overlooked - the security team - and by doing so exposes a paradox: the visibility and presence of security is fundamental aspect of the job description. And yet, their verbal and body language have more than just a symbolic function, it is a means of positioning, mediation, estimation, prevention and de-escalation between the different parties involved. The presence of a security team can create a feeling of safety, while at the same time it brings up the question, "are we safe here?"