Carouçel in Haus der Niederlande te Munster
Carouçel’ is an artwork based on my personal experiences as a veteran. During my mission in former Yugoslavia (1993/1994) I worked as a liaison officer for the 1st NL / UN liaison battalion in Sector south, Graçac. Halfway through this period, I was allowed to go home for 2 or 3 weeks. That was perhaps the most difficult experience for me: unbeknownst to my buddies, they were in trouble — which I found out when I read a situation report that told us there was a small threat of a gas attack. Strangely enough, I would rather die with them, than (safely) hear that things had gone wrong at home. In the Netherlands, I noticed more than ever that people lived in a paradise here, compared to the former Yugoslavia. Everything was well organized to the extreme, super structured, without any hazards, half asleep and boring.
Maze between extremes
Carouçel is an expression of this and is in fact a small maze between the two extremes; the carousel and the ruin; paradise and hell / peace and war / yin and yang in which I am occasionally aware.
A detail from the work are the seats that replace the usual vehicles in carousels. This choice can be interpreted in a number of different ways.
Future meeting space
This work is a model sketch. The work also seems to me in a permanent form a suitable opportunity to meet veterans and civilians and to talk and exchange ideas, the work will be disarming.