ZUTPHEN.- Commissioned by ProRail in collaboration with the City of Zutphen, these permanent light installations are located at two different underpasses.

Designed by architects Mari Baauw (Railinfrasolutions) and Maurer United architects respectively, the underpasses serve to link a new area of the town with the traditional town-centre of Zutphen, set on the river IJssel in The Netherlands. This work follows in the rich Dutch tradition of commissioning contemporary art in the public domain, where improving the quality of the public space is paired with creating a safe, sustainable and functional access to the city itself.

Bringing together architecture, design and art, Kuijer’s installations take physical form through the light that he projects onto the concrete supporting each underpass. For one - where the concrete itself is also coloured - the projected light is coloured, the other piece is constructed purely from a light that becomes visible only as it falls onto a surface.

The progression of light and colour through each space mimics the movement of water close by; it highlights the relationship between time and space and furthermore how we as humans inhabit our ever-changing environments. Colour has long been essential to the work of Kuijer, which in his hands functions as a metaphor for life and for the play between chance and order, technical control and freedom. While his works are synthetic and disorientating, pared-down in their simplicity, they remain monumental in effect.

Kuijer’s work is positioned at the original conjuncture of the river IJssel with the Berkel, highlighting the Dutch tradition of the engineering of nature. The light moves and float across surfaces as if a water current moving across a flat surface, acknowledging the beauty of the natural movement of water and reminding the visitor that they are standing at a place that - without man’s intervention - would be underwater.

Herman Kuijer quotes: “It was a great challenge to work in this specific urban context where aesthetics are paired with accessibility and the safety of the user. My task was to create a sustainable work to allow people to pass safely through and also experience the aesthetic quality of the light. Improving the public domain is a continuous challenge in the Netherlands.”

Edwin Koning of Gemeente Zutphen says: “We selected Herman Kuijer for his proven expertise in realising light as a form of art and his vision to enlighten the tunnel and give travellers a subtle and uplifting experience upon entering and leaving.”
Jan Mulder, the Regional Director for ProRail says: “ProRail is building safe and functional passages under the train tracks of Zutphen. Art ensures that our work is beautiful and also takes care that people feel safe and have a positive experience of their urban environment.”