Closing Ceremony Installation

The challenge
Blijburg was more than a city beach. It was a cultural home for thousands of Amsterdammers - a place of music, experimentation and community. When it finally closed its doors due to building developments, the question arose: how do you collectively say goodbye to something that touched so many people? How do you create a moment that both celebrates and releases?

The experience
Together with designer Ernesto Bos and a puppet-making collective, we designed and built a monumental elephant sculpture from more than 90% reclaimed materials. Not as decoration, but as a ritual object. As a focal point for a shared moment of farewell. The elephant was built to be burned and that was precisely where its power lay.

My contribution
As co-builder, studio Waebe contributed to the physical realisation: material preparation, construction and assembly over several intensive build days. My role went beyond wood and screws. I focused on the people who were building alongside us: safeguarding the shared vision, bringing together diverse ideas and mediating when those ideas collided. Giving a concept shared meaning and making sure everyone feels ownership over it, that is just as important as the building itself. And that is exactly what I bring to every project: attention to the process and the people within it, long before the end result becomes visible.

What it created
The burning of the elephant became a collective ritual that brought hundreds of people together in a moment of celebration and release. Children could place a drawing or a message on it's ears. A video-mapping artist created beautiful visuals on the wooden structure. Then, the fire was released onto the elephant. The ritual created a shared experience that created connection at the very moment a community was saying goodbye. Circular making, collaboration and impermanence came together in one powerful, unforgettable experience.

Co-created with Ernesto Bos and Amsterdam puppet-making collective. Photography: Jan Willem Groen.

Let's build something meaningful. Together

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