When the corona crisis began, Amsterdam looked completely different than usual due to the absence of tourism and the closure of restaurants and other places. Where you would normally have to elbow your way trough the crowd, streets were deserted; where you would normally have a drink at a friday afternoon, a big bunch of terrace chairs was piled and where you would normally be waiting in a long line for concerts, music halls were closed.
Although this street scenary was very alienating and sad, it created some specials moments as well. For example social encounters at a distance, quarantine birthdays and creative initiatives by cafe owners and citizens to get trough this period of time. It was fascinating to see all these changes.
As a tourist in my own city I made a lot of walks and bike rides and collected footage that characterised this alienating period. Based on that footage I made a series of illustrations ‘The Silent City’, a visual story about the street scenary during the lockdown period in Amsterdam. I also transformed the illustrations into postcards that come in a souvenir-like folder, as if it's a souvenir from a period of time in which you couldn't travel.
Although this street scenary was very alienating and sad, it created some specials moments as well. For example social encounters at a distance, quarantine birthdays and creative initiatives by cafe owners and citizens to get trough this period of time. It was fascinating to see all these changes.
As a tourist in my own city I made a lot of walks and bike rides and collected footage that characterised this alienating period. Based on that footage I made a series of illustrations ‘The Silent City’, a visual story about the street scenary during the lockdown period in Amsterdam. I also transformed the illustrations into postcards that come in a souvenir-like folder, as if it's a souvenir from a period of time in which you couldn't travel.
