On Friday September 13th we will gather at the foot of the tube to say farewell to it. The artist and Marianna van der Zwaag, initiator and curator Welcome Stranger, will be present for a cup of tea or coffee and a talk. Feel very free to join us for the last gathering at this location.
About ‘De Spreekbuis’ by Jacob Dwyer
From the window of his house in Amsterdam Centrum-Oost, Jacob Dwyer runs a tube down the facade of the building, where it ends 135 cm above the ground in a horn-shaped opening that invites the ear of a passer-by to listen.
In his practice, Jacob uses words and sounds to build worlds and stories. For Welcome Stranger, he has made a construction that takes the form of a ‘voicepipe’; a metal tube originally used to communicate from the wheelhouse to the engine room on board a sea-going vessel. Now, they’re more commonly found in children’s playgrounds. In his work, Jacob deploys the tube as a conductor through which the inside is transported out. Leaning into the horn, one hears a voice speaking within. It describes the room in which the speaker stands and a series of things that may have happened inside it. The work gives a new perspective on housing. Like so many people in Amsterdam, Jacob experienced the difficulty to find affordable housing, flipping from pilar to post, sublet to antisquat, sofa to mezzanine.
‘When I was invited to take part in Welcome Stranger I, like so many people in this city, didn’t know where I’d be living by the time it came around. Nevertheless, it was exciting to imagine what I would make, as through these thoughts, I could imagine a house. What would it look like? Where would it be? And how would my work function on that threshold between its outside and inside? It made me think about all those
insides which, for the past ten years, have flipped from pillar to post, sublet to anti-squat, sofa to mezzanine, in my constant and seemingly hopeless quest for affordable housing. Remnants of all these abodes travel with me. They enter this work through words and sounds.’ – Jacob Dwyer
During walks and meet-ups we have met nice people, often in conversation with the artists and we are proud of the reviews both in the Volkskrant and Het Parool. Welcome Stranger develops artworks in everyday life, which are also experimental in nature for the artists involved. Do venture out of your house and wander the streets of the city. The works are there until September 15th to explore. We hope to see you!
Find out more about Welcome Stranger and previous artworks and projects here.
More information about the current program and locations that come with it visit welcomestranger.nl. And also keep an eye on our socials.
