Still Life
Bullet factory Het HEM, Amsterdam
The artwork questions the abandoned NATO war factory and creates a link between the present, past and future of this historically burdened heritage. The source material of the bullet production has been melted and casted into four heavy brass plates. Their movement forces the visitor to relate to the work over and over again. The brass plates move slowly away but inevitably return.
Still Life is made in close collaboration with the chruchbell makers of Royal Eijsbouts and Koos Schaart. Teams of specialized crafstmen are actively involved in the process of making our artworks. Finding excellent craftsmen is necessary for realizing the artworks and crucial for the quality in materialization that we strive for.
Bullet factory, NATO, 1950-2003 , foto Peter Marcuse
During the Cold War, millions of bullets were made for NATO soldiers worldwide in the former bullet factory The Hem. At the time, the factory was full of trays with brass bullet casings. The artwork Still Life questions the abandoned war factory and creates a link between the present, past and future of this historically burdened heritage.
In a radical way this intervention sheds new light on the Dutch and UNESCO policy on cultural heritage: Hardcore Heritage. Read more about this in "Frontiers of Psychology" >>>
Still Life
During the Cold War, millions of bullets were made for NATO soldiers worldwide in the former bullet factory The Hem. At the time, the factory was full of trays with brass bullet casings. The artwork Still Life questions the abandoned war factory and creates a link between the present, past and future of this historically burdened heritage.
The source material of the bullet production has been melted and casted into four heavy brass plates. The large plates move in-between the columns in an unpredictable rhythm; together they open and close one’s perspective on the immense space. Their movement forces the visitor to relate to the work over and over again.The brass plates move slowly away but inevitably return.
Data
Artwork: Still Life, 2019
Material: Casted brass, steel beams, crane trolleys
Location: Museum Het HEM, Amsterdam
Project team: Ronald Rietveld, Erik Rietveld, David Habets
Supported by: Cecilia Carena, Francesca Vittorini, Daria Khozhai
Technical realisation: Koos Schaart Adventures
Craftsmanship casted brass plates: Royal Eijbouts
Client: Amerborgh International
Photography: Jan Kempenaers
Special thanks to: Kim Tuin
Quotes from reviews:
NRC Handelsblad
"De eerste grote kunstaankoop van Het Hem is Still Life, een imposant locatiespecifiek kunstwerk van RAAAF."
Volkskrant
"De kunstenaars van RAAAF reageren met de spectaculaire installatie Still op de geschiedenis van de Kogelfabriek"
Art Tribune
"The work, entitled Still Life, perfectly represents the cumbersome past and the creative future of space, from a converted ammunition factory to a cultural and artistic center.
Het HEM 9 dates with Still Life by Ko van t Hek
