Fishing for dreams

Every Sunday from 22/09/24 until the 02/02/25, I have been going to Dam Square to fish for dreams. I consider this act an act of protest art. In this piece I want to raise awareness to the impact, I believe, smartphones have on our dreams. Accompanied with me is a white sign that says: “Please don’t use your smartphones too much. It can chase away the dreams.”

During these 20 weeks I developed a new bond with the Dam Square. I choose the Dam Square for this piece as it intrigues me. It’s a weird place. To who does it belong? I don’t think it could be a home to anyone. It’s an in-between world, mainly inhabited by tourist, or so I thought. After spending many Sundays I slowly started to notice that despite my earlier believes, the Dam Square has its own culture, its own rhythm its own rules, and I noticed a small group of people that I like to call ‘the regulars of the Dam Square’. A street photographer, the Grim reaper, the pigeon-guy, and the most mysterious of them all: Steffen. I never spoke with Steffen but I saw him almost every Sunday walking in big laps on the Dam square. He walked quite slow, always with a backpack and headphones, easily mistaken as one of the many tourists high out of their mind, aimlessly strolling through our city. It took me some time to notice him. He was there, just walking, but at the same time he wasn’t fully present. It felt like his gaze went through everything. Once or twice our eyes met, but I don’t have the feeling he saw me. I counted his laps ones. I believe he did 22. Sometimes he would not show up. I would always be a bit disappointed as every Sunday I awaited for his arrival. After 3 consecutive weeks of him not showing up I thought he would never return, only to be surprised to see him again the next Sunday. I never talked to him, I didn’t feel the need to know what drove him there, I had too much fun imagining all these wild scenarios, that I was scared I couldn’t handle the truth. I don’t even know his real name is Steffen, I just imagine it to be. 

I would like to introduce you to the pigeon-guy, quite a character. He is on the Dam square almost every day, always surrounded by ‘his’ pigeons. Usually the pigeons are on him as well, on his shoulders, on his head, in his arms. For a small feel he’ll give you some seeds and before you know it, his feathered friends would start charging at you. However if you would start feeding the pigeons with your own crumbs, he would get furious. These pigeons are his pigeons and you’ll know it.I saw one occurrence where the argument escalated to a full on fist fight. He started greeting me after the 4th week, but I never fully engaged in these interactions as I didn’t trust him. 

Another public attraction at the square was the Grim reaper. A tall hooded figure with a scythe a big fake joint and a sign around his neck saying: I love Amsterdam. For some change you could take a picture with him, usually he would hold his scythe under your head, and forming the devil horns with his free hand. From my professional theatre background I thought his act was quite cheap. However I had to admit that it worked quite well. He gained a lot of traction with his hard laughs and his imposing presence. I judged too quickly I realised. He certainly attracted more attention than I did. Usually tourists would give up halfway into reading my sign. Or they would just be confused, and walk on. I would have a couple of nice interactions every Sunday but nothing compared to him. At one point, maybe two months in the process, a guy from around 40, approached me. ‘What is your act I don’t understand? I’m the guy in the suit!’. It was him. Turned out he was a very friendly Romanian guy who did this just for the fun of it. Since then we’ve always greeted each other. 

Now I would like to introduce you to the friendliest character of the group: Michiel the street photographer.  From all the regulars I consider him as my only friend. He was one of the first people to take a legitimate interest in my project. He took some pictures, but he was never really satisfied with the result. I just enjoyed his presence and our weekly chat about the weather or the newest exhibitor at Foam. 

Photo credit by Michiel van Mens

These pieces are available for purchase. If you’re interested in acquiring one of my works or would like more information, feel free to get in touch.

But what do you actually sell here?
The leftover balloon, and with it all the dreams.
My journal entry of that day.