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Wednesday, September 18, 2019

De Buerspassage

While ambling along the streets of Amsterdam, we turned into a corner and ended up in a passageway that looked like a secret portal to Hogwarts. Turned out, the arched walkway was Buerspassage, an art installation that was created to pay homage to the city's famed canals.

Artists used things that end up in Amsterdam's canals to create a walkway that gives the illusion of walking through an underwater tunnel along the bottom of a canal with fish, air bubbles, reflections, an assortment of objects  gliding and floating above you – bicycles, umbrellas, cogs, boat parts, liquor bottles, etc  and yes,Vincent van Gogh's ear!

The artwork, named Amsterdam Oersoep meaning primordial soup, is a visual narrative that tells the story of how all of Earth’s life forms originated from water.

Can you spot Van Gogh's ear?  I see a mouse on the left! Eeek !

The seven chandeliers and Art Deco mirrors are made of recycled bicycle parts. Each year Waternet, Amsterdam's Water Authority, fishes between 12,000 and 15,000 bicycles from the canals! The bikes were either discarded deliberately, or tossed in by drunks.

The  barrel-vaulted ceiling is covered in 450 square metres of glass mosaic in hues of green. Each art piece, from the floor to the ceiling, has symbolic references to the city of Amsterdam, its history and its future.

The ceiling for example contains a tube of paint that flows into a rainbow referring to the colorful nature of Amsterdam, its tolerance for the LGBTQ community but it also contains the image of a tiger, liquor bottles, fish, rats and numerous art historical references to famous artists like Van Gogh and Rembrandt,” explains Hans van Bentem. “This work is a journey through the history of Amsterdam, its main arteries, the canals. A crowd stopper, freezing a moment in time thanks to its elaborate craftsmanship and rich materials, celebrating our everyday source of life: our holy water.

All Things Dutch

Fourteen stained-glass sconces handcrafted in the shapes of an umbrella, French fries, a tulip, a wooden clog, the city's coat of arms, etc  adorn the walls.

Hmmm, how is an umbrella Dutch? I am guessing it's one of the items often fished out from the canals.
Umbrella sconce
I love the humour of the artists. The flaming spliff sconce, the red stiletto (a winking reference to the red-light district) and Van Gogh's ear on the intricate mosaic ceiling are such a witty tribute to multifaceted Amsterdam.


My favourite piece is this giant fish fountain on the wall with an open mouth. Below the fish are the words Take Some Mokum With You. Mokum is a nickname for Amsterdam. If you stick your water bottle in the mouth, the red light turns blue, and your bottle will get filled with drinkable water though there is a running joke that the water is probably from the canals!!



Musings Of A Tired Mummy

34 comments:

  1. Absolutely stunning! Must be really fantastic to see it in person! Oh to have the talent to create things like this!

    betty

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  2. Just looking at that raised my spirits. I can only imagine what being there would be like.

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  3. Wow, this is really unique. Are you on an extended vacation?

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  4. It looks magical! Amsterdam just went up a few positions on my bucket list ;)

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  5. Absolutely stunning photos!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

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  6. What an incredible art installation! I do like the Dutch sense of humor.

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  7. Wow, so pretty and unique! thank you for sharing and interesting about the bicycles.... Have a great week!

    Blessings,
    Jill

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  8. Wow, I wish we’d turned down that alley ... what a fabulous find! I love it. We learned about all the trash they fish out of the canals, but nobody told us about this “recycling”... wonderful.

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  9. Wow this sounds like an amazing experience, I can easily imagine losing hours there.. #globalblogging

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  10. That must have been quite a site and I love that fish!

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  11. Loved this post lovely photos I enjoyed them :-)

    Have a colourfultastic week :-)

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  12. Wow! That's a jaw-dropping place - amazing art work.
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2019/09/sleep-what-they-do-best.html

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  13. What a beautiful passageway to stumble upon! :)

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  14. ...gorgeous art, but what amazed me were all the bicycles that they fished out of the canal. Who would have thought? Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Fascinating....thanks for sharing

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  16. Wow, what a great set of photos! I do love it when there is a wonderful surprise around a corner. Awesome corridor.

    Thank you for joining us on 'My Corner of the World' this week!

    My Corner of the World

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  17. You really did a lot when in Amsterdam! I enjoy seeing all the pics and reading the info. I always love the art, etc.

    I was in Holland twice and Amsterdam once. The umbrella doesn't surprise me, because it's always raining there! But what does surprise me are all the bicycles that need to get fished out of the water every year. It's just as bad as littering and parts can't be reused. Even if their economy allows for them to get new bikes all the time, there are many others countries who would probably be glad to get old bikes in good working order.

    Thanks for linking on Amanda's Books and More!

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  18. So many things to see! I'm luving it! The Ceilings dam girl, and that giant fish fountain... I may not take water from it, but it does look totally cool! I love the chandeliers too! Very festive to say the least. That's great they take the bikes out of the river. Well, have a great day my friend. Sending BIG hugs too you!

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  19. Mom has been to Amsterdam countless times and says it is such a fascinating city to visit. There are so many interesting things to see.

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  20. That passageway looks so stunning! Incredibly talented artists, I must say who painstakingly recreated that amazing art. Lucky you got to see it. Thank you for sharing these absolutely wonderful pictures with the rest of us and thank you for linking up with us this week.

    Have a super week ahead!

    Cheers,
    Esha

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  21. Wow .. looks amazing!! #globalblogging

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  22. It's so good you found that spot! I love the fishy coming out of the wall! The colors are so pretty!

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  23. That looks amazing! I love the bright green umbrella lamps.

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  24. So many fun and fascinating details in one place! I didn't go here in Amsterdam when I visited. Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging

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  25. Totally awesome girlfriend! Leave it to you to really outdo everyone on the block... hehehehe!!! Great job. Where on earth did you find this one.. totally new & different!!! This video is way beyond!!! Thank you soooooo much for sharing! Have a great week! HUGS

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  26. Woooooahhhh! This was so very magical. Thank you for taking us through this historical walk. Chandeliers from bicycles parts. How interesting. Van Gogh's ear!

    Thanks for taking us through an enchanting walk of the De Buerspassage, dear Veronica,

    Have a lovely week ahead. Hugs and love xo

    Our new linky is up, so do hop in:

    https://natashamusing.com/2019/10/the-spectacular-sky-wordlesswednesday-wednesdaywisdom/

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  27. I'd love to visit Amsterdam. It's been on my travel wish list for awhile! I love seeing the pictures.

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  28. Ive always thought Amsterdam would be a lovely place to visit. Thanks for linking up with us at the #GatheringofFriendsLinkParty 7 pinned!

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  29. That ceiling is to die for! I love it indeed..and look at all the details..

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