Amersfoort Soesterkwartier

December 2004 I was invited to make a work of art for this neighbourhood. Through circumstances I developed three plans uptill now, June 2007. All three of them have my heart and will come to live one way or another.
Plan one: an international exchange of 'rough' waste between sistercities.
Plan two: The photostudio, 'Photography as a social intervention'.
Plan three: the Dahlia contest, a photowork in public space.

Plan one: an international exchange of 'rough' waste between sistercities.

> My proposition to the artcommission of Amersfoort is to collect rough waste in a 'happening like way' in the quarter behind the station in Amersfoort and in the quarter behind the station in the twincity, Liberec.
To make an exhibition of it on the stations and then exchange the waste by train. Expose it at the other side and hand out in the twincity households. In both quarters there are active amateur photo clubs who can report the whole process. The pictures can be exposed.

 

< Although the houses are larger and a former Spa gives evidence to a wealthy past, the atmosphere does resemble the one in Soesterkwartier. A lot of seperate houses, large gardens, a lot of styles. A bit Wild West. Both quarters have an interesting area between the quarter and the station with possiblities for (cultural) development.

> I love the plan. It will lift Soesterkwartier out of position of a 'deprived' quarter by connecting it internationally to another quarter behind the station. It is a new development in the history of my work, back to performance-like international work I used to do for 17 years of my life in theatregroup Dogtroep. I travel with my mobile photostudio and picture the people with their own and the newly acquired goods. With this material I design a work of art for both cities that reminds them of and gives an new form to the twincity ship.
The art commission of the city of Amersfoort did like my proposition but.... the budget is supposed to be spend on a solid piece of art for the neigbourhood. I am sure I can make that in the end. But the the process costs money.

We decide that this plan needs a longer breath. I will certainly continue shaping the plan and if I do not succeed in Amersfoort other twincities are also candidates to my plan.		  


Plan two: To run a photostudio has been a personal longing for a long time. (October 2006)

  < Many years ago I found a book called 'Photography as a social intervention'. It describes the process of taking pictures as a theatrical ceremony. Subsequently the pictures taken in the quarter are exposed temporaily in the same quarter. I have worked like this several times ( F.C. Tabitha, Moving house see F.C. Tabitha and Moving house). Now its time to give more time and emphasis to the ritual and festivity of taking the pictures. The idea is to have different backdrops you can choose from, objects, maybe costumes and even flat puppets to be held.
Up until now we were not able to organize a spot for the pictures to be placed in public space.
In the mean time I organised my own studio. I experimented with a 'blue screen' model studio. One can add environments/ backdrops/ other people to pictures afterwards.

Plan three: The Dahlia contest
> The DAHLIA contest is the third plan.(June 2007) We have selected this glass building on the backside of the station as the best location for art for the neighbourhood Soesterkwartier. Looking at this location a nice idea fell into my mind. There is an active Dahlia association in the Soesterkwartier. End of this summer we could organize a contest in order to select the eight Dahlias to be placed in the two windows of the glass building. The dahlias have to be of a middle colour like orange, pink etc., so you can still look through the slide material.

Around the flowers I will assemble key buildings, streets and people of the Soesterkwartier.