Artwork Data
Title
John Wayne
Artist
Year
2010
Material
aluminium / steenachtig
Dimensions
400 cm
Partial collection
Artwork Location
Address
Laan van Wateringse Veld, Den Haag
City district
Wateringseveld
GPS data
52.029319901973, 4.2878953829735 View on map
To be found on route
Artwork Description
Text
An art commission can go crazy. In December 1998, visual artist Q.S. Serafijn proposed an interactive work of art to his client in Wateringse Veld: neon works on various new buildings in the district, which would react to the comings and goings of tram line 16 and thus indicate 'real time' departure times. In the end, this project was cancelled. At the decisive moment, the Hague Tram Company (HTM) had just made the switch to GPS and pulled out.
Serafijn then came up with a completely different proposal. He wanted to write a novella. The story would take place in the new district. Since the client (Ontwikkelingscombinatie Wateringse Veld) was keen on a visual and clearly visible work of art, he added an equestrian statue. A statue for John Wayne, the hero of the story. In this way, he is always visible in the neighbourhood. In this art project, fact and fiction blend seamlessly in both the sculpture and the novella. That is typical of Serafijn's work. The wavering between fact and fiction is already evident in the choice of a pseudonym. Serafijn's real name is Robert Hack. He is nationally known, for example, for his D-Tower in Doetinchem. There, in collaboration with architect Lars Spuybroek, he devised an interactive image that changes colour at night. This is because it is linked to the emotions of the city's inhabitants. This artist also wrote novels for some earlier art projects. Serafijn's final project for Wateringse Veld is an extension of this.
Since September 2010, the equestrian statue of John Wayne has stood on the district's main thoroughfare. The bucket on his head, the bunch of flowers and the plastic bag with tomato all refer to mysterious events such as the dead horses found and unexplained tomato sprinkles described in the accompanying novella. All the residents of Wateringse Veld received this associative, imaginative book. In this way, Serafijn creates a shared history for the residents of this Vinex-suburb.