"While walking along the Ten Katemarkt you might suddenly hear a somewhat strange sound from the Hasebroekstraat. That is, in fact, artist Simon Wald-Lasowski's turkey. Like a true cuckoo, the animal appears every half hour. Much to the delight of the neighborhood. ‘These are the little things that make life fun,’ says the neighbor across the street. Simon was asked to participate in a project where artists create art on the facade of their own homes."
The above fragment from an AT5 broadcast describes the cuckoo clock that Simon Wald-Lasowski made of his house. Every half hour, a plump turkey emerged from the attic window which, arriving at the farthest point, rolled out a long tongue and let out a creaky scream. The technically ingenious artwork was like a playful, hallucinatory glitch. Similarly disruptive was the air conditioner Minne Kersten hung on her house which blew smoke rings into the street.
Artists were invited to make new work for on, above, or with their homes. In doing so, they worked in the unexplored area between personal and public space. In these ways, Welcome Stranger meandered through Amsterdam for the past two years, claiming public space in an unassuming way. Passersby became chance visitors or sharers, and places that people might have walked by for years were magically seen with different eyes.
Minne Kersten and Simon Wald-Lasowski were the artists in 2022. In the end Simon Wald-Lasowski's work was extended until June 2023.
Find out more about the artworks via the links below:
MINNE KERSTEN, SCHIPLUIDENLAAN
SIMON WALD-LASOWSKI, HASEBROEKSTRAAT