The Desire © Berkman en Janssens, Duivendrecht, Amsterdam 2008

Art gives identity to no man’s land.

‘The Desire’ consists of an ensemble of 16 two-dimensional white steel sculptures, from 2.5 to 4 meters high, on both sides of the Holterbergweg, as a corridor over a length of 80 meters near the Duivendrecht station.

The (animal) figures symbolize a phase of ‘the human desire’. These white images are inspired by the meaning of figures on the 16th-century carpet series ‘La Dame à la Licorne’, as in earlier works by artist duo Berkman and Janssens in ‘Hortus Conclusus’, Bleiswijk (2006) and  ‘The Love Letter’, Delft (2007).

In this series of images in Amsterdam, the source of inspiration is processed into allegorical images. On each side of the road the series is opened and closed by a monkey standing on an arcade arch. Between them are elegant vases, stately flowers of the ‘Fritelliara Imperiales’ and two watching dogs. The images can be interpreted as: lust, shame and innocence protected through loyalty.

The images, which are reminiscent of paper-cuttings, are not only visible to cyclists and motorists who use the Holterbergweg, but train and metro passengers traveling from the Duivendrecht station can also see the images clearly.

‘het Verlangen’ – ‘Desire’ is replaced in 2019 in a new composition at the corner of Holterbergweg -Amsterdam – Duivendrecht.