a circuit on a bag of Radio Rotor

Walking without haste is something I like to do. For years I lived in the center of Amsterdam and was also regularly found in the Kalverstraat. There was a large store of the Slegte with books on all possible subjects.

One day I was passing by and saw a book about the highest capital in the world, La Paz in Bolivia, at 4,000 meters. People could have problems with oxygen and breathing when they first arrived. That really captured my imagination.

My focus on La Paz did not come completely out of the blue. There was an open call for participation in the La Paz Biennale and I thought it would be super cool to participate. I wondered if and how you could visualize breathing and came up with a solution. That's how I submitted a proposal and was invited to come and realize it.

The sky can be explored
I came up with a space where you see a pause sign on the wall when you enter and hear someone breathing. When the pause light came on, the breathing stopped. When the pause sign went off, the breathing continued.

For the design of the pause sign I got inspiration at the Bellevue theatre. Then to Radio Rotor in the Kinkerstraat. They collected the electronics to be able to connect the pause sign to the recording of the breathing. They put them in a bag with a drawing on it of how the circuit had to be soldered. I don't know anything about electronics, but I can solder. It worked!

To be on the safe side, I took a second set with me so that I could also solve any calamities on the spot. With a soldering iron in my luggage, I left for La Paz. At the market, I bought a load of potatoes that originally came from South America. I hung a light bulb above them. Every day, there was an old guard in the museum with a beautiful blue smock who watered the potatoes so that aerial roots would grow on them. The stay in La Paz turned out to be one big adventure, but that is another story. My participation in the La Paz Biennale was a success!