Her I enjoy the quit and concentrated atmosphere. I go to the library if I need some new input or just want to work somewhere else than in my studio. You can also just go there to relax at one of the beautiful spots in the building. Or have some food at the top floor with a beautiful view over Amsterdam.
A few years ago I had a conversation with a staff member from Uytenhaak Architects about concealed texts in Amsterdam, relating to my own work ‘stoned forever’, which is integrated in brickwork in the Olympic Quarter. He said that there is a text in Morse code incorporated into the Droogbak (1989), a residential building by Uytenhaak: ‘Deze muur staat er niet’ (‘This wall isn’t here’). It is located close to the railway line. Rudy Uytenhaak later told me that this was his last opportunity to protest against the acoustic fence that had to be constructed for bureaucratic reasons.
Since I was a child I always loved to go to the aquarium in Artis. This mysterious world that we will never really get to know makes me wonder and raises questions. I like this mysterious world. It’s a place to relax and think things over.
This is the area where I always make my round if I want to see some good works in the galleries. It’s a nice neighbourhood with many galleries in a walking distance from each other.
Surrounded by the growing business area of Amsterdam Zuid, this modernist historic monument from the 60's oozes freedom. The clash of strict, grey, practical architecture of Gerrit Rietveld with the chaotic, colourful, anarchic bustle of art students working in these spaces is amazing. The 5 years I spend here as a student changed my life and shaped me to a great extend to who I am today. Now, temporarily walking these corridors again as a guest teacher, I realise how much I had missed this place since graduating 8 years ago. This is not a common art school. It's a family, a movement with a very personal and radical approach. Many students coming for a temporary exchange end up staying, because after wandering through this twisted Mondrian painting you will never be the same…