On the side-lines, an art project on the borders of the Meuse in Venlo.
The starting point of the project is to allow people to look at the neighbourhood from a different perspective. The involvement of people in their neighbourhood makes or breaks the sense of community, which also stands for quality of life, safety and maintenance and preservation of the neighbourhood.
The project consists of 3 related parts.
1 part consists of a printed transparent canvas, 400 meters long and 4 meters high, on which hundreds of inhabitants of Venlo are depicted, standing along the side-line of the Meuse. People who stand for their city. An enlargement of their feeling that they are literally standing on the side-lines, within the new development plans of their neighbourhood, which they think they have little influence on.Also during the war: For months, people stood on the Meuse border, powerlessly watching that other part of their city that had not yet been liberated. Now I put the people of Venlo on the Meuse as watchers, with the meaning: "are we going to do something now, can we make a difference?"
The second part shows the croaking of frogs in the Meuse... The frog symbolizes the ugly that becomes a prince through a kiss. I use it as a metaphor for the Q4 district. By loving it, by being involved, it becomes beautiful.
The third part consists of lighting the 300 meters of facades on the Meuse border. I want to make the neighbourhood sparkle like a diamond, make it valuable. A temporary metamorphosis of the neighbourhood. With the intention that people at the entrance of Venlo will look at this district through a different lens. It briefly shows how beautiful it can be, and temporarily gives the city back its self-esteem.
