- News
HOME BOUND: NEUDE TRANSFORMS INTO A LIVING WORK OF ART MADE OF ROPE AND STORIES FOR TEN DAYS
From May 14 to 23, during the SPRING Performing Arts Festival, Utrecht’s Neude square will be transformed into Home Bound: a growing art installation centred around rope, stories and community. Over the course of ten days, artists, craftspeople, local residents and visitors will work together to demonstrate how diverse groups in Utrecht are connected.
During the SPRING festival, an open studio will be created on the Neude, based on a concept by Australian artist Luke George and Singaporean artist Daniel Kok. In their installation, people – from knitters and tufting artists to rope artists – who would not normally cross paths will come together around a shared structure. They will knot, plait and weave their materials and techniques into a monumental rope installation. Following a first edition in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia, Utrecht is the second city where this installation will be built.
Creator Daniel Kok: “We’re very curious to see how the group of participants in Utrecht differs from that in Naarm/Melbourne, as the two places are very different. In any case, we expect that rope, weaving and social discussions about multiculturalism, human migration and the sense of belonging will be recognisable all over the world. And that the political message behind this work is, in this way, easy to understand, yet at the same time nuanced.”
Every day from 14 to 23 May, starting at 12:00, the artists will welcome various communities to share stories and knowledge and work on the artwork together. Moroccan carpet weavers, Utrecht bell ringers from the Dom, Surinamese rope makers; they will all be contributing to the artwork for one or more days.
Creative producer Charlotte Verhoef, who is linking the project to Utrecht via the SPRING festival: “We’ve been preparing this with Luke and Daniel for months now, and it’s absolutely fascinating. We’ve really taken a deep dive into the lives of people who dedicate their identity and their lives to their relationship with rope. It’s amazing how many directions you can go with rope! Things I’m really looking forward to include, for example, the Shibari expert, who’s bringing her bondage practice along. That comes from the fetish scene, but it’s also a genuine art form – absolutely beautiful. She’ll be doing a ‘rope jam’, for instance, where people can be tied up. It’s going to be very playful in any case. We’re going to do monkey bars with athletes, there’ll be a joint knitting day with various knitting communities, but also, for example, a circus performance with ropes.”
Visiting or taking part in the artwork is free of charge. Participation is open to all and entirely voluntary; you can get involved by donating materials, helping to build the artwork, or simply watching the creative process up close.
For the full programme and ticket sales, visit www.springutrecht.nl