Raft builder Arie Taal dreamed of a city neighborhood built on Styrofoam. He died last week at the age of 77. Family, friends and neighbors greeted the extraordinary artist from Pelikaan Bridge today.
Together with artist friends Robert Jasper Grootveld and Rob Schrama, Arie built polystyrene rafts. “He was very creative and forward-thinking,” says neighbor and friend Annette van den Berg. “He thought: the world doesn’t always stay as it is, so maybe it would be interesting to develop something that allows us to live on water and not have to fight the water.
City district on polystyrene
The language dreamed of more than just a floating island. “Soon we’ll even have a whole floating neighborhood. Mayor Cohen is working on it, no one knows yet. You have the scoop,” he told AT5 in 2001.
That part of the city did not materialize, but this island will remain there for the time being. “I hope we can enjoy this island for a long time and continue to think of him when we bike by or pass by,” says a neighbor.
2024-01-09 19:00:00
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