On Friday, 13 September, we will gather one last time at the base of the pipe to bid it farewell. Feel free to drop by for a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy this temporary work. The artist and Marianna van der Zwaag, initiator and curator of Welcome Stranger, will be present for a conversation.
About ‘The Speaking Tube’ by Jacob Dwyer
From the window of his home in Amsterdam Centrum-Oost, Jacob Dwyer runs a pipe down the facade of the building, ending 135 cm above the ground in a horn-shaped opening that invites the ear of a passerby to listen.
In his work, Jacob uses words and sounds to build worlds and stories. For Welcome Stranger, he created a structure in the form of a ‘voicepipe,’ a metal tube originally used for communication from the bridge to the engine room aboard a ship. Nowadays, they are more commonly found in children’s playgrounds. In his work, Jacob uses the pipe as a conduit to bring the inside out. If you lean into the horn, you hear a voice inside speaking. It describes the room the speaker is in and a series of events that might have taken place there. The work offers a new perspective on living. Like many in Amsterdam, Jacob experienced the difficulty of finding affordable housing, from subletting to squatting, from couch to mezzanine.
“When I was invited to participate in Welcome Stranger, I, like many in this city, didn’t know where I would be living when the time came. Still, it was exciting to imagine what I would create because these thoughts allowed me to envision a home. What would it look like? Where would it be? How would my work function on that threshold between outside and inside? It made me think about all those interiors that have moved from pillar to post, from subletting to squatting, from couch to mezzanine in my constant and seemingly hopeless search for affordable housing. Remnants of all these places travel with me. They enter this work through words and sounds.”
About Welcome Stranger
During walks and meet-ups, we have met lovely people, often engaging in conversations with the artists, and we are proud of the reviews in both the Volkskrant and Het Parool. Welcome Stranger develops artworks in everyday life, which are also experimental for the involved artists. Step outside your home and wander through the streets of the city. The works can be admired until 15 September. We hope to see you!
Read more about Welcome Stranger and previous artworks and projects here. For more information about the current programme and associated locations, visit welcomestranger.nl. And keep an eye on our socials as well.
