Pieter van der Schaaf

Architectural structures are punctured by cables and plumbing to deliver power and running water. These systems support the fulfilment of basic needs like food, hygiene or communication, and largely determine a building’s usability beyond shelter. Meanwhile, the wires and tubes form a parallel world of energy and circulation that human occupants thoughtlessly depend upon. Pieter van der Schaaf puts a spotlight on these circuits. Exposing, disturbing and extending them, he creates a zone of tension and transition where the building’s systems and everyday life encroach on each other. At EKWC, Van der Schaaf took the process further by turning the circuit into an autonomous installation. He produced an impressive number of pipes, bends and junctions that may connect to form a functioning system of yet undetermined purpose. With their lively, uneven reduction glazes the pipes resemble archaeological remains – or fossils of an ancient species that might come back to life.