Derlow's work revolves around narratives conveyed in fragments of various materials. These pieces work on their own but are meant to be seen together in a site-specific setting where they possess the suggestive qualities of what happened, is happening, or about to happen - thus forming the notion of a story.
One wanders through Derlow's exhibitions step by step - work by work - collecting elements of a story and its subject matter. The spectator’s associative qualities are hard at work and fill in the missing pieces. This spatial awareness of the audience is the element that strings the works together, reads out trails and pervades the space together with the narrative at hand.
The narratives that Derlow conveys are a mix between the site-specific material, anecdotes, or historical aspects of the exhibition space contra a fictional narrative influenced by Derlow's extensive research in perception and camouflage. That is why his work often takes unexpected angles in which Derlow plays with the hierarchies of seeing and alters the experience of the art venue. For example, his works are often camouflaged characters with an interest to remain unseen. A paradoxical format for an exhibition, yet instilled with such generosity and humor that it entices an audience to linger or return.