Heart of Zuilen

The spatial installation 'Hart van Zuilen' tells the story of the former 'Demka' and 'Werkspoor' factory workers. The people had a strong connection with the factories and their colleagues. Their work was dangerous and tough, bonding them into a strong warm-hearted brotherhood. Nowadays the only physical remains are a big empty factory hall and the working-class houses in this district. I wanted to give back that warm-hearted feeling to the old members of the community by bringing the old factories back to life.

The inside

The inside of the installation represents the heart of the brotherhood, while the outside represents the tough labour environment. The amount of visitors influences the brightness. The illuminating red-orange walls express warmth, love and affection. Combined with the evenly glow, a feeling of infinity is created.

This installation was part of the festival "IJZERsterk" in Zuilen (a neighbourhood in Utrecht).

My share

Creating the concept, doing research, making technical drawings, testing with light and reflection, furthermore designing the images and animations and also managing a small team to help with the realization of building this installation. Together with Ivan Hidayat and Jonathan Bleeker, we filmed inside a factory that melts metals by hand.