Blueprint

BLUEPRINT: Whose urban appropriation is this? was a multidisciplinary group exhibition and public programming curated by guest curator Metro54. This collective invited architects, designers, rappers, producers and artists to show new and existing work around the relationship between architecture and street culture.

The exhibition was designed by architect Afaina de Jong and Charlie Koolhaas exhibited two photographic installations. The first was a large scale folded out version of her book What Happened in Rotterdam that seemed to explode from within de Jong’s designs. The second installation featured a series of photographic sculptures made from photographs of Rotterdam.

“The theme of architecture emerges most powerfully in the photography of Charlie Koolhaas. In two opposing niches, both with a large cut-out circle, the playful works are displayed on either side, highlighting identity formation, immigration and the urban appropriation of different cultures. On the wall hangs a fanned row of photos with street scenes from Rotterdam, where immigrants stand in front of their supermarket next to a photo of a multicultural Miffy road sign. Posters are pasted on the inside of the niche with short anecdotes from immigrants about their experiences in the city of Rotterdam and Dutch culture. In the other niche there are photos on aluminum plate that are bent in such a way that they follow the sight lines in the photo: an exciting work with a fresh look at Rotterdam architecture. The niche in which the architectural works are placed transforms into a kind of micro Rotterdam, with small glimpses into the city: a three-dimensional viewing box of Rotterdam. Together, the two sides accurately reflect the relationship between street culture and architecture, where immigrants make themselves at home in the city, give and take, and where the architecture functions as an almost living backdrop.”

Metropolis M Magazine, Corine van Emmerik, 07.08.2017

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