The Poet is a Cow
Foil 12 x 5.8 meters, 2005, was a temporary work on the façade of the entrance of the Dutch Social Insurance Bank (SVB) headquaters from architect Abe Bonnema and titled after a poem by the Dutch poet Gerrit Achterberg.
The image relates to the Dutch landscape, a view we know so well suddenly looks in on us. Outside turns into inside. The colored foil introduced the tension of light in this white, glazed building. During the day the sun projected the image into the main hall and colored the office spaces, until the images disappeared due to passing clouds. The light installation dematerialized the space, the building became the canvas and the sunlight acted as a brush. Visitors to the building became part of the predominantly violet light landscape in the hall, and when using one of the glass elevators they became immersed in the huge cow's head. The intervention of the work very gradually affected the people working in the institution. In time, they discovered that the reflection of the colors also entered the offices, coloring their papers and walls. This "color bath" put their environment in a different perspective. People became aware of the physical light and space, their own movements, and felt more unified with the architecture and surroundings.