When the reins were allowed to loosen again in the summer of 2020 as part of the measures concerning the Corona pandemic, we were happy to be able to open with the Zomerwerf. By spatial design agency Offenders W a multi-functional grid was designed for the Load Out at NDSM. Within this grid, space was created for sports and games, picnics, small-scale performances, not to mention our NDSM citygardens. Another part was the first basketball court of 3X3 Units at NDSM and the tournament they organized this specific summer. Another striking element was the punching bag by Boogieland, so that people could (kick) box outdoors. We, Stichting NDSM-werf, were glad that, with all the space we had 'left over', we were able to give something to the city.
In the summer of the coronavirus year 2020, there was a real potato mountain at NDSM
In June of that year, at the initiative of Jur Jacobs and the Slow Food Youth Network Netherlands in cooperation with Foundation Together Against Food Waste 20,000 kilos of potatoes poured out at the shipyard. Via the Too Good To Go app, Amsterdammers were able to come and make beepers at the Load Out, near Pllek, for a moment. The action was a great success and the mountain was gone by the end of the afternoon. We suspect that a lot of fries, stews and potato gratins were eaten last week.
Slow Food Youth Network (SFYN) is an international youth movement that works for a good and fair food system. The organization believes that young people should play an important role in the future of food production and consumption. That's why they're trying to bring young consumers, producers, farmers, chefs and students closer together. They do this through eat-ins, tastings and events such as World Disco Soup Day. “Together, we need to work on a more resilient food system where less food is wasted, farmers get a fair price and where good food is available for everyone,” says Lianne de Bie, director of Slow Food Youth Network Netherlands.
There was a nice mix of people: from Old Northerners to people with Teslas from't Gooi.
The organization was very satisfied with the turnout of a very diverse audience and estimated that potatoes were sold to more than 600 people in Amsterdam, spread across the day. Co-initiator Jur Jacobs: “What I personally liked the most is that there was a nice mix of audiences, from Old Northerners to people with Teslas from't Gooi. All ages, origins and groups were present.”
Last Saturday's action is not an isolated one. There are many surpluses of food in the Netherlands, it's not just about the potatoes that have been saved from waste. The Samen Tegen Voedselverspilling Foundation wants to create more awareness about food waste in general: “In the Netherlands, there are surpluses due to COVID-19 right now, while large parts of Africa are facing imminent hunger. This is something we need to solve together,” says Toine Timmermans, director of the Samen Tegen Voedselverspilling Foundation.
The NDSM-werf Foundation believes the underlying problem is very important and is pleased that it has been able to contribute to raising awareness about this theme. In addition, the organization has the ambition to become a testing ground with the shipyard for sustainability, circularity and greening, also in relation to the city and a half meter. Over the past few weeks, the foundation itself has been working on an intelligent opening up of the site and has taken the first step with the Yard garden: vegetable garden planters for Amsterdammers who don't have a garden themselves. To do this, the Foundation works with partners such as De Onkruidenier. This way, people can safely grow their own vegetables and herbs on site, provided with a specially designed grid that secures the one and a half meter measures. More actions may be set up in the future.
Multidisciplinary artist Willem de Haan made an airstrip out of the Y slope.
Multidisciplinary artist William de Haan approaches serious issues in a cartoonish, sculptural and sometimes laughable way in order to pay tribute to a certain object, subject or situation. With the site-specific installation 'Landingstrip', he paid tribute to the exceptional spatial environment of the monumental NDSM shipyard and created an alienating situation, blurring the boundaries between script and reality.
The absurdist presentation North Airport addressed the question of what the multi-deployable space, which originally served as the international infrastructure, could be used in the future. The installation Landing Strip on the Y-slope was part of the overarching project North Airport and was an extension of the fictional Departure Lounge, which Willem de Haan and Kamagurka opened at the Patty Morgan gallery.
Toothbrush, earphones, clean socks, passport? Check! The alarm for the first train to the airport was set, but then... FLIGHT CANCELLED. So back home.
Around the installation Landing Strip a final performance took place on Wednesday, August 14: in CANCELLED | A Performance by Willem de Haan Willem showed that no matter how hard he tried, some things were beyond his control. Because when did you have no choice but to surrender to fate? And what did that fate entail?
The installation Landing Strip and the project North Airport following the North-South Line, offered a new fictional connection between Amsterdam-North with the city across the street and the rest of the world.
This project was (partly) made possible by the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts.
Dries Verhoeven approached people and artificiality at NDSM
Until October 20, 2019, the work was Happiness of Studio Dries Verhoeven on display at the NDSM shipyard. The work approaches the area where man and artificiality coincide, where artificial means help us to be human again or more, or just leave that being human for a while. In Happiness Dries explores the world of artificial happiness in the form of drugs, painkillers and antidepressants. There is a small pharmacy building on the street. A humanoid — a human-looking robot — works there as a pharmacy assistant. She tells us about the means by which we can regulate the serotonin and dopamine levels in our brain, and thus adjust our reality and perception. Are we moving towards a world where we are lyrical by appointment, programmable in our feelings?
Now that recreational drug use in the nightlife seems to be becoming mainstream, and the stigma on antidepressants is beginning to disappear, our idea of what emotions are is shifting. We no longer see them as authentic true experiences, but as chemical processes in our brain that we can influence to our heart's content. By controlling the amount of serotonin and dopamine, we are able to create our reality and perception. Politically and socially, there is quite a bit of suspicion about the pharmaceuticals of the influence of consciousness, but how sustainable is this restrained use of the artificial in light of technological developments and growing demand?
To finish, the artist talk “Happiness on Demand” was organized at Sociëteit Sexyland on October 20, 2019, at ADE Hangover. Dries Verhoeven spoke to Machteld Busz (initiator of Poppi: Drugs Museum Amsterdam) and journalist Thijs Roes (De Correspondent and Vice Media) who studied the drug policy of the future. The talk was interpreted by author Marian Donner with appropriate passages from her Self-Devastation Book, that is inspired by 'Happiness'. For the occasion, there was a special artwork by Poppi Drug Museum Amsterdam to admire.
Happiness was a co-production with the NDSM-werf Foundation & SPRING Performing Arts Festival.
In four weekends, young theater makers from the circus, mime and theater schools performed at NDSM.
Step Right Up was a project by the Street Theatre Institute Netherlands (SIN), which was located at the NDSM shipyard. Famous theater maker and winner of the 2018 NDSM Open Call, Pieter Post, coached the talents in the run-up to their performances. On 3, 4, 18 & 19 May, 10 & 11 July and 28 & 29 September 2019, the NDSM shipyard provided space for new street theater artists from home and abroad. Performances were held at the location between 13:00 and 18:00. These were free of charge and suitable for all ages. There was also a terrace where food and drinks were available to enjoy during the performance.
Street Theatre Institute Netherlands and Step Right Up
In contrast to neighboring countries, street theater only played a small part in cultural awareness in the Netherlands. On the other hand, it offered a great school for young talents. By playing on the street, they were able to experiment, interact directly with the audience and thus be trained in creating engagement. Both timing and improvisation were very important!
To introduce young makers to the street theater school, the SIN offered by means of Step Right Up a coaching program and stage for this form of play of action and reaction, challenge and response. The talents rehearsed at the SIN theater under the direction of theater maker and director Pieter Post. The SIN was a playground and meeting place for all genres, types and sizes of international theater makers.
The artists
The first weekend was dedicated to Troubamour (Marrit Bausch and Ursel Braaksma) with the show Groundless. Groundless was a physical street theater performance about borders, limitlessness and the urge to limit. About adapting to others and thus sometimes losing a part of yourself. The central question was: what was left of yourself, of a group, or even of a country, when the borders were blurred?
The second weekend was for Milan Seegers, with the show Cuckoo. Cuckoo was an imaginative circus show that celebrated the differences that gave color to our world. Milan was a crazy and absurd figure who enjoyed showing off art with his eggs. This resulted in an acrobatic choreography about picking yourself up, dusting yourself and, above all, never giving up!
The third weekend was the stage for Julia Campistany, with a show about the fragility of harmony: It happens. Through comedy and movement, a dialogue was created between success and failure, beauty and shame, and serenity and unrest. Just when you thought everything was good, you were worried about what might go wrong.
Before the last weekend, during the NDSM Open on Saturday, September 28, 2019, a surprise performance was scheduled!
Visual artist Navid Nuur is fascinated by how human perception works. His works are therefore an interplay between material, architecture and sensory phenomena. Light and darkness have been a recurring element in this for years. For Navid Nuur, light is anything but unambiguous.
In his series THE AFTER GLOW Navid considered its limitless possibilities. THE AFTER GLOW III here was his latest work of art, specially made for the NDSM shipyard. The art project was shown at three fixed locations, where it blended with the architecture of the old shipyard.
A fourth element of the project was a newspaper, entitled THE AFTER GLOW, issue 3. This could be found scattered around the shipyard at various points.
About Navid Nuur
Navid Nuur (Tehran, 1976) lives and works in The Hague. Major international solo exhibitions have been shown at Trafó House of Contemporary Arts in Budapest, Marta Herford in Herford, Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht, Parasol Unit in London, S.M.A.K in Ghent, Kunsthalle Fridericianum in Kassel and De Hallen in Haarlem. In 2019, a solo exhibition of new work will follow at the Gemeentemuseum The Hague.
Steel, iron, art and performance in one place at NDSM.
Ferrotopia was an art installation in public spaces, a Gesamtkunstwerk A pop-up museum in one. The art installation was an ode to iron (ferrous = iron) and consisted of a collection of characterful buildings, grouped around a central square. During the previous three years, parts of this had already been shown at the Ruhr Triennial in Bochum (Germany) and at the Center Pompidou in Paris (France). A new work was added to this at the NDSM shipyard: the Valhammer House, a place for destruction and recycling. The ensemble was completed with the unique Happy Watering Shed, a fully equipped and ready-to-use metal workshop, forge and foundry.
Cross-over programming
Against the backdrop of Ferrotopia From the opening, a program of visual arts, design, theater, film, music and lectures has unfolded. This linked the romance of industrial heritage to the rediscovery of new industry and crafts in a circular economy. This program was created in collaboration with, among others, Over het IJ Festival, Partizan Publik, MU Eindhoven, EYE Filmmuseum and, of course, Atelier Van Lieshout itself.
The focal point of the installation was the Domesticator, who had caused a stir internationally because of her sexual appearance. Atelier Van Lieshout explained the theme of this artwork as follows:
“Domestikator reflects on the way humans cultivate and domesticate the world by applying their ingenuity and creativity, yet how at the same time they challenge ethical and real borders by new technologies. With the artwork, artist Joep van Lieshout wants to start a dialogue about these positive and negative forces, while playfully addressing one of the last few remaining hypocritical taboos.”
Ferrotopia was commissioned by the NDSM-werf Foundation. The project was made possible in part by financial contributions from the Municipality of Amsterdam, the Mondriaan Fund, the Amsterdam-Noord district, the Doen Foundation, the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts and Fund 21, and with the cooperation of BeamSystems and Pllek.
Monolith was an object similar to the monolith in Kubrick's film. 2001: A Space Odyssey. The big difference was that here, water flowed from bottom to top over the rectangular shape and clatter down at the back. All works by Feigl were driven by a certain technique, which may not even have always been that complicated, but it created an impressive and grand image every time. This work symbolized the mysterious and inexplicable in our world. The origin and power of the object in the film remained unfathomable, and so in the real world, it was still just as impossible to get a grip on everything in the real world.
2001: A Space Odyssey
At the start of Stanley Kubrick's iconic movie 2001: A Space Odyssey a group of apes in their prehistoric, desert-like environment was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange new presence. A huge black rectangular monolith appeared in their midst and thus provided a strong visual contrast. With some suspicion, the monkeys touched this strange object, which was completely unclear where it had come from. The monolith could be interpreted in various ways, but at least it had to be seen as a catalyst for the development of human evolution. The object set in motion a certain intelligence that led to progress, a need that was peculiar to humans even outside the fictional world of film, who always strived to improve through ever-increasing technological and digital tools.
About Zoro Feigl
Zoro Feigl (Amsterdam, 1983) made work that moved. Feigl was fascinated by why things worked the way they did and why things moved the way they did. Much of his work was designed for exhibition in large spaces and could thus be experienced as fascinating as well as intimidating or even threatening. The sculptures moved according to their own, sometimes predictable and sometimes surprising rhythm. That was the trick for Zoro: understanding the material and the movement and being able to orchestrate them.
Feigl's work has been shown at Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam and Museum Voorlinden, as well as at the Verbeke Foundation (Belgium) and exhibitions in China, Japan, Brazil, Russia, Italy and Bulgaria, among others. In 2017, King Willem-Alexander created the artwork ECHO “on” at the opening of the renovated State Office Building in The Hague, which housed, among others, the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Infrastructure and Water Management.
With its expanse, industrial buildings and rugged atmosphere, the NDSM shipyard is a remarkable part of the city. Commissioned by Stichting NDSM- werf, visual artist Jaap Scheeren wandered around the site for a few months and captured the unpolished character in a collection of life-size landscape portraits. In his work, he searches for the hidden stories beneath the turbulent surface of the NDSM. The photo series is therefore an ode to the shipyard as a place for the imagination.
The images were later featured in the NDSM special edition of Mr. Motley Magazine.
ART INSTALLATION MADE POSSIBLE BY ART CITY, KINETIC NORTH FOUNDATION, AND NDSM-WERF FOUNDATION
High between the old steel beams in the back of the monumental Shipbuilding Shed hangs a small white neon light that shows a changing message: one moment the word 'nothing' shines, the next moment the word changes to 'something'. The contradiction raises questions about the huge empty space where the work is on display. What exactly is meant here: what is nothing and what is something? Is it about emptiness, is it waiting to be filled in to become something? Or does emptiness itself also have a value?
In the current building frenzy, where empty plains are quickly filled in all over the city, the artwork asks you to take a moment to reflect on the meaning of empty space.
Untitled (something/nothing) is an initiative by Art City NDSM, made possible in part with the support of Stichting Kinetisch Noord and Stichting NDSM-werf. Thanks also to Bouwbedrijf Van Braam-Minnesma.
This week is National Second Hand Textile Week (April 20 to 27, 2021). I couldn't let this pass me by without highlighting my (and probably many others) favorite spot for second-hand items, but especially clothing: the IJ-Hallen.
Not only is it the largest organized flea market in Europe, it's also a place to get inspired and enjoy the unique atmosphere. The IJ-Halls are part of the identity of the NDSM shipyard, a good reason to look back and forward during this special week in these corona times.
I remember it like it was yesterday, the first time I set foot in Amsterdam-Noord. With a friend, I traveled north from the Betuwe for two hours to visit the IJ-Hallen. For two girls from a farming village, it was an incredibly impressive experience. It was also the moment when I fell in love with Amsterdam, a few from which I never really escaped. In addition to the impressive structure of the market on the NDSM site outside and inside the warehouse, there was also a typical “IJ-hallen atmosphere”: welcoming, warm and curious. Something you don't experience like that anywhere else and is almost impossible to describe in words. After that first time, the monthly trip to Amsterdam-Noord had become a regular occurrence. Weekend after weekend, I strolled through the stalls, finding out over and over again that I could really use a new sweater, pants or pair of shoes.
I'm not the only one who looks back on long afternoons by the stalls with a certain sense of nostalgia. If you venture into the IJ-Hallen review page, you'll be overwhelmed by unique stories from visitors, from Amsterdam and beyond. About how they found their new showpiece for the living room or their new solid wood dining table they've been looking for so long. In addition to being a place to buy or sell new acquisitions, the IJ-Hallen are also a meeting place. There's nothing like taking a seat on the Y-slope with fries, next to you is a bag filled with new additions while you chat with a fellow visitor who has also settled down.
It's really fun to find people's extraordinary stories at the IJ-Hallen
Undoubtedly, many connections, friendships and most likely also loves have arisen on the sacred ground of the IJ-Hallen. As a visitor, you also get a fascinating glimpse into the lives of sellers at the IJ-Hallen, who, by displaying their contents or wardrobe, give a glimpse into their style and what they once loved but have now decided to say goodbye to. Hiring for a fine-knit sweater, you'll find out how much you have in common with the salesman at the other end of the stall.
Besides the fact that the IJ-Hallen have an enormous emotional value, buying second-hand textiles and other items is also good for the world. Indeed, the textile industry is a huge one. polluter and responsible for 10% of total global CO2 emissions. Just to be clear, this is more than all international flights and all commercial sea transport combined. The production and processing of clothing, footwear and home textiles also cause water pollution and landfills: landfills of waste in the ground that then sinks into the soil. And we haven't even talked about the human rights violation from some clothing companies in developing countries. In short: buying a little more second-hand can have a huge impact on the world and with a place like the IJ-Hallen, it can also make a fantastic impression on yourself.
As a visitor, you also get a fascinating glimpse into the lives of sellers at the IJ-Hallen
Unfortunately, we weren't able to enjoy the stalls very often last year and it all had to be in a much smaller form.. This had everything to do with the situation surrounding corona and the measures taken to prevent the rising infections. “I hope we can open safely again soon,” says Nichon Glerum, the photographer of the IJ-Hallen for 6 years, when I ask her how she feels about the market in a phone conversation. “It's really a great event. Every time, the stories are there for grabs; together with the photogenic warehouse and NDSM site, this really creates a unique atmosphere. It's really fun to find out people's extraordinary stories and the reasons why they buy or sell things. It's really fun playing a shop.” Nichon's enthusiasm can be felt over the phone. When I ask her about the future, she lets out a sigh. “I really miss the IJ-Hallen,” she says, “as soon as the government gets the green light, we want to go full throttle again. We have a lot of great plans to make the market even more special.”
Don't miss out on the IJ-Hallen and the potential next market when we are allowed again? Watch here the website or click here to stay up to date via social media.
Text and performance: Omar Dahmani, director: Eric Seleky, camera and edit: Ran Govaars
The NDSM-werf Foundation, in cooperation with the shipyard's cultural partners, asked Omar Dahmani to write a poem in honor of 5 May about freedom and solidarity, two concepts that have taken on an even broader meaning in these times. The poem was designed and printed by Grafische Werkplaats Amsterdam and donated meal soups to the Cordaan Foundation (@cordaan_ams) along with May 5. Omar Dahmani recited the poem at the NDSM shipyard, portrayed by Ran Govaars, artist with a studio in NDSM Treehouse. The poem can be read below.
Free from God
when neon lights dim and the song closes so that only hopeful slogans resound through a grim demonstration
a railway car is being painted sleeping in the draw stammers the penniless street musician
then you will see with your ears what your mind doesn't believe
until we bite we are prey only fold your hands in case of a storm suddenly thankful just after loss
then you will see with your ears what your mind doesn't believe because he doesn't believe in people
Well yes Wel believes there is something
but what exactly no one knows
Made possible in part by @4en5meiamsterdam and the shipyard's cultural partners: @Nieuw Dakota, @Straat, @Beautiful .Distress, @GWA Grafische Werkplaats Amsterdam, @Ndsm -fuse, @MACA, @OverhetIJproducties and @Treehouse .NDSM.
Credits and references
Text and performance: Omar Dahmani, director: Eric Seleky, camera and edit: Ran Govaars
A final round of honor for the Museum of Undeboiled Art
tekst:
Robin van Dijk
With the Museum of Unintentional Art (MOK) coming to an end at NDSM, we asked Willem Dieleman, one of the founders of the MOK, to contribute to our online magazine as guest editor. A tribute, an honorary parade and a standing ovation as a farewell and review of the past few months of the MOK at NDSM.
Text: Willem Dieleman Are you ready? I'm counting to three. One. Two. Three... four? Five. Six?! Seven! Seven months and seven opening announcements, it took us with the Museum of Unintentional Art (MOK) were allowed to open. Seven is a symbolic number that the MOK would normally go very well with. Three days later or forty hours of delay had also had symbolism that we could rely on. In any case, we can count ourselves lucky that it has not been canceled six times. How should I have told this story then.
Storytelling is what we love to do at the Museum of Unintentional Art, preferably with objects that everyone just walks by. Because of these stories, people stand still and look at their surroundings differently. The NDSM-werf Foundation also thought it was a good idea to curate unintended art in addition to all “regular” art. We won the NDSM Open Call 2020, which required the entry to be corona-proof. November 7 (there's that number again) was our official opening. We had chilled the champagne, flew in speakers, decorated the room with fringes and balloons. We were ready to start. However, the Tuesday before, the “press conference of death” came. Wouldn't corona have blown over on December 20? No, not anyway. When things seemed to be getting better, everyone went out, but we weren't allowed to encourage anyone to actually do that. When the sports clubs were allowed to engage in self-flagellation en masse and people were allowed to queue for hours before Primark, we decided to start the race ourselves.
I sent a festive announcement that we nought would organize and that, if you were in the area, you were definitely not supposed to be present at the NDSM Square at 3 p.m. I just emphasized: “stay inside, we won't organize anything!” It was a watertight plan if I hadn't had to self-quarantine the day before.
April 28, 2021: terraces open We open. Really now. However, there are other factors to take into account, such as the weather. You would almost forget that that was once a topic of conversation even when you had nothing to say. The weather. Someone should make it a good drama series with the title May 2021. Our work was corona-proof, which means, among other things: outside. And in probably the wettest May since 1983, “outside” was a suboptimal place to take an accidental art tour.
It must have been good for something. That's what people tell victims to comfort them, that all that suffering was not for nothing. For us, it was indeed a year that taught us a lot, especially cancellation. I've also become incredibly good at writing off-the-shelf emails, dealing with disappointment, patience, and acceptance. And, of course, not to walk in seven locks at the same time. Some people stay in Tibet for seven years before that. We were just trying to open a modest, coronaproof, unintended art exhibition.
Despite all the previous suffering, we have done a number of wonderful tours (I even think 7, but now that point has been made, someone will add another conspiracy theory to it). There were beautiful works among them, they are still there by the way: the tour can still be run independently and you can also take a live tour with our director Gilad Bino Jr. Walvic books. He takes you through the collection and after the tour, you will never look at the surroundings the same way again. A participant said after the tour: I thought it was very beautiful and incredibly funny, but I didn't know if I could laugh. She had a good point there. Art is not meant to be laughed about and certainly not accidental art. The more seriously you take it, the funnier it gets. If you want to laugh, go to the Stedelijk. At least they have signs that say: you can laugh at this work.
The MOK can be visited at the NDSM wharf until the last weekend of June. Click the button below for more information about how to do your museum tour by yourself, or how to book a guided tour
Credits and references
Lees
A final round of honor for the Museum of Undeboiled Art
Interview: Sijben Rosa about Not Forever before (Un) monumenting
tekst:
Robin van Dijk
On June 25, 2021, Sijben Rosa launched her work Not Forever at the NDSM shipyard as part of (Un) monumenting #2. We talked to her about her work and her vision of what monuments (in her opinion should or could) be in the context of art in public space.
The exhibition series (Un) monumenting is about the concept of monuments today and what they should be, and who decides that. In this context, tries Rosa with Not Forever to make the versatile soul of the NDSM shipyard tangible with a large ambiguous object. The object will roam the NDSM shipyard for the next two months, each time under the care of a different shipyard user, while laden with that person's conviction about what the soul of the NDSM shipyard is.
On a sunny day, I meet Rosa in her workshop in East Amsterdam. This is an incubator in a former school building where several artists house their studio or studio. We take a seat on the building's sunny roof terrace and start talking about her work.
Rosa, when Stichting NDSM-werf asked you to make a work for (Un) monumenting, what went through your head and how did the idea of this work come about? How did NDSM end up in your work?
“I think the question from Stichting NDSM-werf came partly because I was involved in organizing a demonstration in Hoorn, where I grew up, against a monument by Jan Pieterszoon Coen that is in public space. I find it scandalous that that statue is still there and that it takes so long to remove it, if it is ever removed at all. So I've been working on the concept of monuments and who should be represented in public spaces for a while now. In addition, I have made work in public spaces in the past, for example my work Demo and Things you know, which makes me think I've ended up on the radar of the NDSM-werf Foundation. Then the Foundation asked if I could do something with the idea of a monument at the NDSM shipyard. Not so much to make a monument but to respond to the idea of monuments. At first, I found that very difficult for various reasons. First, De NDSM wharf is so big and expansive that everything you put in it has a great chance of disappearing. Secondly, the NDSM shipyard has been inhabited by artists for quite some time and so much has been done there. Each spot has been used to show something so many times that I also found it difficult to relate to it at first.”
“That's when I started thinking about what form this work should have,” Rosa continues, “I like to leave my work in the middle of the world. I sometimes find it easier to show something at a construction site than in a museum, while in a museum, something gets a lot of attention. But on a construction site, there is much more of a context that you can use and respond to, making your work even more meaningful. It is this interaction that I often find interesting; I even like it to have a bit of a clash or to reveal the weirdness of art: the contradiction between a very practical, functional, direct reality and what art is.
Want to give firm shape to something that is elusive, that could represent the soul of the NDSM shipyard.
But art itself is also something very basic at the same time. Even in a museum, it's still a lot of weight that needs to be brought to that place. It's those aspects that I often really like about art because they're actually all just things. We sometimes have that tendency to forget the “thingness of art” with ourselves. We often only see ourselves as a subject, as something that has symbolic value and not as something that only takes up space, as an object or a thing. That idea fascinates me; if you were to completely disassemble a painting in a museum, you wouldn't find one piece that had the value of the work. Just like if you were to completely dissect a person, you won't find one piece that contains the soul or identity, it's in your whole being.”
So how did you end up with this object?
“What I love about monuments is that they make something you cherish together into something material and tangible. So the idea for this work is also about wanting to give permanent shape to something that is elusive, which could represent the soul of the NDSM shipyard. Which you can also easily make a topic of conversation with it. When there is a discussion about a statue in Hoorn, it is not only about that statue, of course, but also about what that statue represents, it makes the subject concrete. If you were to ask me what topic makes this work concrete? Then that's what the NDSM shipyard is at the moment, and if we continue in the same way, there won't be any more very soon.
It's about caring, and that you have to do that together, caring for a place
I am talking about climate change, among other things, but also about the fact that gentrification is knocking at the door and that the NDSM shipyard may be further commercialized and there will be less and less space for art. That's why I have the job Not Forever mentioned, also in response to a nice quote by Sasha Pevak (curator and artist ed.): 'The monument becomes visible only when it is removed'.
“What I also wanted in it,” Rosa continues, “is that it's about caring, and that you have to do that together, caring for a place. So because the object is so big and you can't move it alone, care providers always need several people to move it in and out or to a new place. Exactly those stupid practical consequences, I think that's what the artwork will be in. I think that's where the moment I'm looking for comes in. Provoking interaction, dialogue and stumbling. The intention is that each caretaker of the object gives their own interpretation, giving the object value. The work will be launched on June 25, but I think in a way it's not there yet. The object is there, but just over the next two months, all the experiences it experiences will gather in the object, which is what together becomes what I want it to be.”
You also included the aspect of transience in your choice of materials, can you tell us more about that?
“Certainly, in addition to the fact that it fits the concept of this work, I also think that, as artists, we should take responsibility for what materials we choose for our works of art. Especially for a temporary work like this, I think it's important to focus on what kind of materials I might be able to reuse from other works and what materials have the least impact on the environment. Definitely a job like Not Forever, which, of course, is also partly about climate change, I would find it hypocritical to throw a whole mountain of plastic on the table myself. That is why I chose to use materials from the recently demolished building of Sexyland. I do like the fact that there is also literally a part of the NDSM shipyard in it. Of course, that's not just because of Sexyland, but also because of what that building used to be.”
“What I'm not sure yet is what to do with the boulder after the two months that the work has been active. What reassures me is that all the material I used for it, including the screws, are all things that were already waste before it became this object. That soothes my conscience somewhat. I'm also curious what it is then, what it has become in meaning. I think the final destination also depends on what the collective idea makes of the object.”
Rosa, how do you see art in public spaces, what makes it different from art in a museum or “inside”?
“The main difference is that you didn't ask to see art in public spaces, that's something you're confronted with whether you like it or not. That's what I really like about art in the public space, it also integrates more into daily life than much other art. There is a certain piece of art that I see on my way home every day, and every day I look at it differently depending on my own state of life and state of mind at that moment. It changes shape because my mind changes and time goes by. This can also happen with monuments, just look at Jan Pieterszoon Coen, public opinion is changing (although there have always been protests against the statue), while the thing itself still looks exactly the same. When something is in a museum, it is also viewed differently. That's what I find interesting, how space and time influence the way we look at something.”
“By the way, it's not just that art is subject to the influence of public space,” Rosa continues, “but it can also be the catalyst that starts or starts a conversation. In the ideal situation, work is not only subject to external circumstances, but can also influence those conditions.”
Do you want to know more about Sijben Rosa and her work? Then check here her website. (Un) monumenting continues! In addition to the already visible work Breathing the City by artist collective Frerara on the NDSM Billboards, is also the third edition of this exhibition series in the making. Don't miss anything? Follow the NDSM-werf Foundation on our socials!
Credits and references
Lees
Interview: Sijben Rosa about Not Forever before (Un) monumenting
From 1 to 12 July 2021, a theater performance called Fire Play will ignite in Treehouse. Created by young makers Tinka Bruneau (18) and Zenzi Gil Hogenboom (19), this is the perfect warm-up for the upcoming Over Het IJ theater festival at the NDSM wharf. We talked to Tinka and Zenzi about their production and how they ended up at the shipyard.
Tinka and Zenzi are both fresh out of high school and initially ended up at the NDSM shipyard with their face mask company. Meanwhile, they moved to the east wing in the NDSM Loods where they came into contact with NDSM Fuse and the artists from the City of Art, among others. “That's when we actually thought, why don't we do something creative?” says Tinka, “there is Fireplay hatched. It's the first major project for both of us, and I also call myself a starting cultural entrepreneur.”
“We've both always been into theater,” Zenzi adds, “for me, there has gradually been an increasing interest in the production side. I really directed a play for the first time two years ago, I really liked that. Unfortunately, that production had to be cut off due to corona.”
“We work really well together, we're really a collaborative idea machine,” Zenzi continues, “we call that a “hivemind”. Then we came to the idea that we wanted to make a dialogue, i.e. a play with two people. Precisely because that way, we were also able to keep it small if necessary due to the pandemic. Actually, it's only been a few weeks that we've been handing things over. Suddenly, we have actors and a production assistant, etc. It's like watching your baby grow up.” Tinka nods in agreement. “Indeed, it has suddenly become bigger than us alone,” she says, “it's also a great way to get to know people at the NDSM shipyard and see how everyone thinks along with you and wants to help you where possible. For example, we initially wanted to play the piece in public spaces, but then ended up with Treehouse as they have more facilities and experience in this area. They were immediately enthusiastic as they also played a bit of a role on site by helping young, beginning makers. That's how the ball started rolling”
Next, the two young theater makers tell us a bit more about where Fireplay is about content. “The idea originates from the concept of cyclicity,” Zenzi begins, “the idea that everything in nature is not just progress but a cycle of phenomena that recur all the time. If you are in that cycle, you may not fully realize that the moment you are sitting in is a repetition of what once happened in a certain way. For example, the end of a relationship is often seen as a tragic end to a good time, while it can also be the beginning of something new.”
“From this concept, we started with the idea of dialogue,” Tinka continues, “we wanted to fully build two people in the play and explore how their personalities, experiences and habits interrelated. In it, we try to make a story that does not have a beginning and an end, but is a cycle.”
“The characters in the play are named Daan and Doris,” Zenzi continues, “these are two girls who have been in a relationship for a few years and are both very present people in different ways. In their dealings with each other, a lot has gone under the rug over the years and it all comes up in one evening.” “That then inflames a heated conversation,” Tinka adds, “the play shows how the history of both characters influences their behavior and how that can sometimes be a bit awkward between two people. In the play, these interactions are juxtaposed with natural cyclicality (think behavioral patterns that you adopted from your parents), shedding light on the relationship between two people that the audience has hopefully not seen before.”
In our conversation, I notice Zenzi and Tinka's passion and energy as they're about Fireplay talk. They have used and expanded their entire network to make this production and there is a great sense of professionalism. “The proverb”no you have and yes you can get ' is very true,” says Tinka when I ask what the biggest lesson they take away from this adventure is. “With so many aspects of this production, it has been a matter of daring to ask.” “We were on top of it all,” says Zenzi, “which really makes it a personal production, we were there for the fun and not so fun jobs, but that's also the great thing about such a project, I think.”
It promises to be a spectacular show series full of intrigue and plot twists you didn't see coming. In combination with Treehouse's artistic atmosphere, Fireplay one to put on your agenda. Bring plenty of water, because we can't guarantee that it won't get a little hot underfoot! It's also a great opportunity to get to know the creativity of young makers at NDSM and support them after a bummer when it comes to stage art.
Next, the two young theater makers tell us a bit more about where Fireplay is about content. “The idea originates from the concept of cyclicity,” Zenzi begins, “the idea that everything in nature is not just progress but a cycle of phenomena that recur all the time. If you are in that cycle, you may not fully realize that the moment you are sitting in is a repetition of what once happened in a certain way. For example, the end of a relationship is often seen as a tragic end to a good time, while it can also be the beginning of something new.”
“From this concept, we started with the idea of dialogue,” Tinka continues, “we wanted to fully build two people in the play and explore how their personalities, experiences and habits interrelated. In it, we try to make a story that does not have a beginning and an end, but is a cycle.”
“The characters in the play are named Daan and Doris,” Zenzi continues, “these are two girls who have been in a relationship for a few years and are both very present people in different ways. In their dealings with each other, a lot has gone under the rug over the years and it all comes up in one evening.” “That then inflames a heated conversation,” Tinka adds, “the play shows how the history of both characters influences their behavior and how that can sometimes be a bit awkward between two people. In the play, these interactions are juxtaposed with natural cyclicality (think behavioral patterns that you adopted from your parents), shedding light on the relationship between two people that the audience has hopefully not seen before.”
Interview: Anne-Jan Reijn about his work Public Air Filters
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Robin van Dijk
Anne-Jan Reijn, one of the winners of the NDSM Open Call 2021, launched his work Public Air Filters on July 11, 2021. We talked to him about the installation and his vision of the artwork.
I meet Anne-Jan at his studio in Make Community Hope in Zaandam. As we walk around inside, I can't help but draw a comparison with the city of art: the studios are at multiple height levels and are all unique. Since it is a remarkably hot afternoon, we decide to have our conversation outside. As we sit under two large oaks on the water behind the breeding ground, we start talking.
Anne-Jan, you won the Open Call 2021 by Stichting NDSM-werf. Can you tell us a bit more about how the idea of Public Air Filters came about and why you decided to submit it to the Open Call?
“Yes, of course, Public Air Filters is linked to an exhibition that I'm going to do in New Dakota later this year called Asbestos The Magic Mineral. The exhibition uses Asbestos as a catalyst or case study to tell a story about dangers that we cannot see with the naked eye. When I was designing the exhibition in collaboration with New Dakota, we thought it would be nice to draw a line outwards, since the subject is about air. So we sent Public Air Filters in for the Open Call, to add another layer to the exhibition, a layer that takes place outdoors on the shipyard.”
We have the idea that we should be able to exert a certain influence on certain conditions of nature.
“Almost all my work has been about risk and anxiety for years, especially about the difference between real fear and unreal fear. When I started thinking about this work, I thought Asbestos was a sensational topic, and it originated at a time when we were even more hysterical about it than we are now. At one point, for example, there was an evacuation of a residential neighborhood in Utrecht, because a small amount of asbestos may have been released somewhere. My tendency back then was to think that was a severely exaggerated reaction, but I did find that hysteria fascinating. We walk among cars tearing by day in and day out, but when a tiny amount of asbestos is released, all alarm bells go off. Not that that is unjustified per se, but of course there is a kind of selection mechanism, which intrigues me. That's how the idea to make a work about an 'invisible enemy' started developing.”
“What I find interesting about things that we can't see is, because you can't see it and you can't measure it yourself, interesting social structures automatically arise. The danger must be framed and flagged by an authority. This is usually done by the government on the advice of science. As a citizen, this immediately puts you in front of the question: to what extent do I trust science and in the authority that transmits the message or result of science? I find that trust issue that then arises interesting, it is often also conflictual and wonderful to poke in.”
The location of the NDSM is certainly an interesting one because you can imagine that there is a kind of special sky there.
“This also includes a comparison with what we have experienced with an invisible enemy over the past year; in that sense, current events have overtaken this project. When that news developed last year, I found it, in addition to being very worrying, partly also a bit of a treat. I find these kinds of very intense socially charged issues about dangers and risks, especially so involved in daily life, the most interesting. What I'm mainly working on with my work and soon with the exhibition in New Dakota is framing that invisible enemy, but in the context of air quality. With my work, I put a frame and a mark on pieces of air so that a value can then be attached to those pieces of air: is the filtered air better than the unfiltered air, and can the unfiltered air still be trusted?”
Can you tell us a bit more about the message behind framing air in public spaces and the visitor's assessment of air quality at NDSM?
“Absolutely, let one thing be clear, it's not my goal to scare the visitors to NDSM about the quality of the air they breathe on site. When you talk about framing air, I think the powerful gesture of my work is that I offer filtered air to people. As a result, all other air is framed as unfiltered air at once. What does that do to people's perceptions of where they walk and what they breathe there? So basically, the work lies in the perception of the environment of people that you generate by offering filtered air. However, it is and remains a work of art, which essentially says nothing concrete about the actual air quality that ends up in the lungs of people walking by.”
Breathing in all at once becomes a kind of extravagant adventure
“The more underlying meaning of the work has to do with what place people occupy in the nature around us. I think that, as humans, we are very inclined to think that we are separate from nature and our environment. In our opinion, it is our body vs. what happens outside our body. While that, of course, is not entirely correct with how our body actually functions, because there are many organisms that are needed to keep our body running, that come from the world around us. I hope that people will become more aware of the interaction with us and nature when they look at my work. In addition to invisible enemies, there are also invisible necessities that are found in nature around us.”
“In addition to the conceptual part of my work, there is also an aspect of experience. It balances on and over the edges of fiction and non-fiction; visitors cannot find out for themselves whether air is really being filtered or not. In addition, a system is at work that exploits and manipulates the idea of a visible residue created by invisible particles in the air. By working with that residue, it is pulled over the top so much that breathing in at once becomes a kind of extravagant adventure where you see and take in all the pink, yellow and shiny growing fabrics. Something that is very normal in daily life, namely breathing in and out, suddenly becomes an experience. It takes on a kind of fictitious adventurous quality all at once. That game that occurs between what really happens and what the installation insinuates, what happens is an important part of this work.”
When I read your plan and started thinking about air quality in that context, I made a link to industrialization, does the industrial past of the NDSM shipyard play a role in the work?
“The location of the NDSM is certainly an interesting one because you can imagine that there is a kind of special sky there. The image of the former industry is still fresh in the collective memory, but must now also make way for the image of a residential area. That's what I want with Public air filters hang out a bit in between. Because more and more homes are being built at the NDSM shipyard, that also means that the sky is changing. Or is the air of the industrialization that existed then still to be found? And now we're still talking about the 'outside' of NDSM. I can imagine that the air quality in the NDSM Loods is even more influenced by the former industry at the moment. In a hall like that, on a floor where a lot of work has been done with heavy metals and toxic substances, you can't get rid of that with a vacuum cleaner. Of course, the question is whether these are quantities that you should worry about, but it is important to be aware of. That's actually the same contrast as what I'm trying to clarify in my work: we call the NDSM shipyard both inside the warehouse and outside the warehouse, but there is a difference in air quality. The same difference when it comes to my work with the unfiltered air and the filtered air in the outdoor area.”
“I do think it would be healthy if we looked for an alternative to the zero-risk image that is being raised in Western democracies, because that image is an illusion. We got the idea that we, as humans, have the right to have no risk, and nowadays many promises are being made and systems are being built around that. We're constantly looking for control over something we can't actually control. We have the idea that we should be able to exert a certain influence on certain conditions of nature while there is a very clear limit to how far that is possible.”
“A lot of unhealthy substances that are better not to breathe in function of a probability that you may only be able to partially influence. Just look at Asbestos, you can be unlucky and get sick from coming into contact with that substance once. But there are also people who have worked with it all their lives and never get bothered by anything. That means that, in theory, you don't have to breathe in much from an invisible enemy and you can still get sick. They are almost like anonymous statistics of invisible dangers and that idea generates a certain tension or awe. Actually, the whole life is also like that, a collection of anonymous statistics that determine the course. That awareness, that we are part of a larger nature and all its influences and opportunities, is what my work is most about.”
Credits and references
Lees
Interview: Anne-Jan Reijn about his work Public Air Filters
NDSM X summer specials by Radio Noord Amsterdam: Stones in Noord
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Editors
Stones in North
So in the summer months, our friends at Radio Noord Amsterdam take over for us. This time, Selby Gildemacher, alias DJ Fer AF Drijver and Gijs Velsink, aka DJ Gijs Velsink, cover the spoken neighborhood newspaper with Radio Noord Amsterdam, the spoken neighborhood newspaper: a breath of fresh air on the old shipyard, 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 with Lola Bezemer, a light intermezzo with The Hollys and Radiohead, a resounding name for a heap of bricks that currently goes on for the Ms. Van Riemsdijkweg, the soul of the NDSM shipyard and the battle song of the week.
Luca Boscardin, one of the winners of the 2021 NDSM Open Call, is launching his work Animal Factory at the NDSM shipyard. The installation consists of a number of full-size minimalist metal animals that will roam the shipyard in the coming months. We spoke to Luca about his work and artistry at NDSM.
I met Luca in his studio in the Art City in the NDSM Loods. After making my way through the labyrinth of studios and workspaces, I came to a spacious room decorated with various Luca toys. This creates a very colorful and playful environment that lifts the mood the moment you step in. After catching up, we had met before for some photos, sat down at a big table in the studio and started the interview.
So, Luca, can you tell me a little bit more about yourself and your art?
“Of course! I'm originally from a very small town in northern Italy. That's where I decided to study architecture in Venice. After graduating, however, I realized that, as much as I love architecture, I wasn't able to incorporate anything from Luca into the designs of buildings, parks, or other large-scale things. I couldn't express myself in designing on such a large scale. That's why I decided to do a master's degree in graphic design, in an attempt to reduce the scale in which I design. The interesting thing is that for everything related to design, the process is the same, but the outcome will be different. I was able to use the same skills I had learned in architecture and apply them to graphic design.”
I realized that a lot of animals came out of my pencil
“Although I really enjoyed graphic design and playing with colors and graphics, I felt that my heart wasn't really beating for work. That was when I decided to move to Amsterdam. When I arrived, I came across a beautiful studio where designs were made for children's toys. As soon as I saw it, I was mesmerized. There are people who actually do this work, it's not just a hobby but a real profession! So I delved into it and got completely caught up in it. I love this work, it's an exceptionally beautiful thing. So my art started with architecture, but let's just say I found a way to best express myself in toy design. I learned the hard skills of design by studying architecture and graphic design and discovered how to put love into my work by making toys.”
“The toys that I design are not objects that you just look at, they are all objects that you can play with. For me, playing means learning, and learning is discovering something you don't know yet. That's also what I do with my toys, I don't give the user, the kids, a ready-made toy, they need the action of playing to finish the toy. That's why architecture was really important because it gave me a lot of rules and a grid that I can use when making these kinds of toys. A strong design makes toys free and easy to play with. With all my toys, I try it out at workshops with children. It is wonderful to see how children play with your toys and that they actually work. Children are also incredibly honest, so they will ask you very direct questions if something is unclear to them.”
“The idea started with the concept of simplicity, like almost everything I make. I bought oil-based pasta crayons, which are made from a type of paste that can be used for a very rough way of drawing, with thick lines that you can't erase. With these colored pencils, I did an exercise to draw things that consist of just one line. I tried to work and play in the same way that kids would work and play. In doing so, you will discover the most important characteristics of animals, the long neck makes it a giraffe and a few stripes make it a zebra. In that context, I started designing on a piece of paper and realized that a lot of animals came out of my pencil.”
“Somehow, I was also fascinated to go big and wild with this project. So for this design, I just tried to imagine it on a larger scale, something to play on instead of something to play with alone. Then I had the thought: what if they could be in the proportions of the real animals they represent? Imagine cycling through the city and out of nowhere you find a crocodile in the park, or a giraffe around the corner of a building. At the time I was playing with this idea, we were back in lockdown and you heard on the news how wild animals were spotted in the city streets because it was so quiet there at night. This gave an extra layer to this idea of wildlife in the city.”
Animal Factory goes beyond just being toys
Can you also tell us a bit more about why you chose to submit Animal Factory for the NDSM Open Call?
”Animal Factory goes beyond just being a toy. In terms of design and use of materials, it is certainly a challenge for me. I feel like I'm also playing while I'm designing and making it. In addition, I think that NDSM is a perfect place for these kinds of projects. Fortunately, there is still a bit of nice chaos and clutter here. There is room to improvise and be surprised. That's why I think meeting a giraffe at the NDSM shipyard is crazy, but also quite normal somewhere. It's a beautiful place full of energy and creativity where lots of great ideas are born. Imagining that the animals will actually roam the streets of NDSM and that children and other people will actually play and interact with them is a wonderful idea. Because of the simple design, I think the family of four animals that we have now can easily grow in the future. They may also be able to migrate to other parts of the city, or to other cities in general. The animals here in this studio just started on a piece of paper. Now we are building them in a steel workshop and they will be at NDSM in the coming months. But I'm sure they're going to other places too. One way or another, they live and go their separate ways.”
The animals of Animal Factory will be on display at the NDSM wharf from August 19 and everyone is welcome to play, chill, exercise or just hang out! I highly recommend visiting Luca's studio or website because viewing his designs is a real mood booster! Check out his website below
“The simplicity of designing the lines on paper is linked to the design process and the way the animals were built. They are made of steel tubes, handled by a steelsmith at NDSM, just as simple as the lines are drawn on paper, nothing more and nothing less. I always think that when you get to a point in your design where you can't take anything else away without the product losing its functionality, you're close to a good product. Bee Animal Factory every line counts, because each line defines a part of the animal and each line also counts for the animal's stability. There is a certain beauty in that simplicity. Due to their simple design, the animals offer the freedom to have multiple ways of use or interpretation. For example, I can imagine kids playing with them, but I also see a group of teenagers just hanging around them or someone else using them while exercising. We all want and need to use our creativity, play and occasionally think of something fantastic and crazy. That's what we need in our lives, I think.”
Can you tell us more about the collaboration with Iwan Snel, the steelsmith who made the animals?
“Yes, that's actually quite an interesting story. One of the great things about the NDSM shipyard is that you can find many different types of people. That's part of the privilege of working here. One day, I just knocked on Iwan's door and asked if he wanted to be part of this project. He loved the idea of the animals and decided to jump in. It's really nice how sometimes a great idea or project connects very different people.”
“I love the contrast between us. I'm a little Italian, really chaotic and noisy, while he's a quieter, big Dutch Nordic guy who works in this workshop full of steel, iron and tools. But even though we seem very different, we were a great match from the start. What is really nice to see is that, as a designer, I am free in my ignorance to draw what I want without knowing what is actually, materially possible. In turn, he knows the machines and tools, their capacity and limits, and the technology needed to build the structures. This provides a nice balance, because I can go wild in my design, unlimited by practicality, and he can then show me the limits of what is possible, creating a kind of golden mean. That's why I think a project is strong when it's nurtured by different people with different areas of expertise. Because there are so many different people with so many different talents here at NDSM, it will be a perfect playground for great projects.”
NDSM X summer specials by Radio Noord Amsterdam: Languages in North
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The regular NDSM X Podcast is taking a summer break, but don't worry! During this period, the guys from Radio Noord Amsterdam will record a number of NDSM X summer specials live from the shipyard!
Languages in North
This second summer edition will be released a little later than you are used to from us. But this time, too, a nice broadcast is waiting for you. Today, your hosts treat Selby Gildemacher aka DJ Fer Af Drijver and Gijs Velsink aka DJ Gijs Velsink with Radio Noord Amsterdam, the spoken neighborhood newspaper, the following topics: Tower of Babel with Perrine Philomeen, Rivers of Babylon, Good news, mediocre news, bad news, La grande Radio Noord Amsterdam Lingua Quiz, Fred and Arjen, Jos de Rooij's Blue Land, Battle Song for Big Capital. This is Radio Noord Amsterdam: Languages in North.
Credits and references
Luister
NDSM X summer specials by Radio Noord Amsterdam: Languages in North
Tower of Babel: meet the artists! Edition 1: Perrine Philomeen
tekst:
Anna Sidorchik (OAT Studio)
Video series Meet the artist! From the Tower of Babel
In the context of the Tower of Babel at NDSM, we will talk to eight artists who contribute to this art installation in their own way. Each with their own, unique workshop, allows Amsterdammers to reflect on the city of the future. Together, they create versatile works of art that will all be decorated in an impressive building at the NDSM shipyard from September 18 to October 17. In edition 1: Perrine Philomene, the youngest artist in the Tower of Babel collective.
For the Tower of Babel, Perrine Philomeen worked with young people with textiles, graffiti and many other materials. The result: a flag for each person, expressing what they stand for.
'Los Zand' — An investigation into the Tower of Babel by Annemieke Dannenberg
tekst:
Annemiek Dannenberg
When I think of the Tower of Babel, I think of language, of Breughel's tower lying like a cake in the landscape, of God and the tarot card with figures tumbling off a burning tower. I'm thinking of confusion of speech, the risk of collapse and the human desire to understand the divine.
The Tower of Babel at the NDSM shipyard is an idea by artist Guido van der Werve. The goal is to create an architectural installation where polyphony is central. By inviting Amsterdammers to bake bricks, edit textiles and have street art created under the direction of artists such as Fouad Lakbir, Tina Lenz, Mick La Rock and Bengin Dawod, we are working on the one hand to build an installation and, on the other hand, to facilitate a place to exchange stories and deepen everyone's perspective on the city.
In the Bible story, all people speak one language, they decide to build a city with a tower that reaches to the sky because they want to “make a name for themselves” and avoid being scattered all over the Earth. Where, on the one hand, this story reads as a historical explanation for why people speak countless languages, but on the other hand, I read an illustration of thinking ahead. The tower is the crowning glory of the city that has just been built, as a symbol of what people are capable of when they join forces.
If the tower in the Bible story symbolises what people are capable of, perhaps the question underlying God's intervention is as follows: What are people prevented from when they focus on building the tower?
Imagine the Earth without cities. Can you see into the distance? Do you hear an animal calling? Are there open fields, dense forests, tall mountains, and winding rivers that expand as far as the power of the water reaches? A group of people form clay blocks with their bare hands and bake them in the fire, coat the blocks with potato starch and stack them on top of each other. I imagine a rhythm, buzz, stories shared as the city unfolds in a nature reserve and then moves slowly upward. Was the goal to achieve a certain prestige or is a connection with the divine being sought in the construction of this tower? Each stone as a prelude to heaven, a staircase to the house of God. In the Bible story, God comes down to intervene. While observing people and listening to the rhythmic stacking of stones, he says in Genesis: “This is just the beginning.” Was that a prophetic note with a look at the present?
The tower in the tarot deck is on the table in front of me. In the distance, I hear piles, a highway, sirens, a truck rushing by. With my finger, I follow the contours of the tower on the map. I wonder why God intervened. Why did He descend and confuse people with speech? In the tarot, the tower refers to the crumbling of a strong conviction, putting everything on loose sand. It is an insurmountable thing, so that there is room for something new. This tower can be a lonely place, where old ideas and mummified feelings prevail. On the tarot card, I see a green door in the tower where three steps lead. The steps refer to acceptance and integration of a new form of knowledge, such as a new worldview or a new narrative about the self. Only then can the tower door open and the reveal the inside. Only then does the construction of a narrative that no longer serves you collapse. The tower is also compared to an oven where the philosopher's stone unfolds.
If the tower in the Bible story symbolises what people are capable of, perhaps the question underlying God's intervention is as follows: What are people prevented from when they focus on building the tower? What story is being created and does it actually help people? According to God, all strength, knowledge and energy are combined and used to gain outer strength, in the desire for fame. Cultivating the earth is forgotten, caring for each other is on the back burner. In the tarot, God's intervention is therefore explained as a solution instead of punishment. Because of the confusion of speech, people are returning to the question of what it means to be human. Like the tarot card refers to deconstructing a story you've told yourself. The tumble of the tower offers space to start again, to reconnect with the Earth, with yourself, with each other.
In this light, the art project at the NDSM shipyard is an interesting sequel. God is not sought in the air, but within interaction with fellow Amsterdammers. The construction of the installation is not the goal, but the means to facilitate a space where meetings can take place. The word “building” takes on a new meaning in the workshops that are organized at the NDSM shipyard, where polyphony (or confusion of speech) is approached as something positive. Not one building block is the same, each person brings something unique and building is about creating and participating from that individuality. The workshops thus form spaces for connection and the exchange of stories. Something that may have become rare in the city and something that the tarot card with the tower provides insight into. Which wall should you let go of, what can you let go of to experience (again) connection?
Credits and references
Lees
'Los Zand' — An investigation into the Tower of Babel by Annemieke Dannenberg
Tower of Babel: meet the artists! Edition 2 — Mick La Rock
tekst:
Anna Sidorchik (OAT Studio)
Video series Meet the artist! From the Tower of Babel, 2021
In the context of the Tower of Babel at NDSM, we will talk to eight artists who contribute to this art installation in their own way. Each with their own, unique workshop, allows Amsterdammers to reflect on the city of the future. Together, they create versatile works of art that will all be decorated in an impressive building at the NDSM shipyard from September 18 to October 17. In this second edition: graffiti artist Mick La Rock.
If you ask graffiti artist Mick La Rock, the ideal city is one where graffiti is allowed, but also every person. “A reflection of the world in a few square kilometers.” For the Tower of Babel at NDSM, Mick did a workshop with Amsterdammers. Their joint work can be seen in the tower as a collection of collages.
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