BijlmAIR ? Jan Rothuizen

The Soft Atlas of Southeast

July 8th ? July 18th

The past four months artist Jan Rothuizen (1968, Amsterdam) resided in Amsterdam Zuidoost and worked on his project for the BijlmAIR (Artist in Residence). Rothuizen likes to make long walks and during his stay in Amsterdam he made many strolls through the Bijlmermeer. As a result Rothuizen made six maps. These maps are not just a report on what is present on the location. They are notions of what Rothuizen sees, thinks and feels and registrations on how Rothuizen and the people he meets experience the city. The six places are divers but they have one thing in common, all of them are places where the inattentive passenger walks by or the visitor from outside wouldn?t easily stay.

The project is entitled ?The Soft Atlas of Southeast?, and refers to a book Rothuizen is still working on titled ?The Soft Atlas of Amsterdam?. This book will also exists of maps and texts. The title of Rothuizens? book again refers to the title ?Soft City?, from the writer Jonathan Raban. According to Raban a city manifests itself at the particular point where the ?harsh? and actual city of buildings clashes with the ?soft? subjective experiences and expectations.

On Friday July 3th and Saturday July 4th there will be an organized walk. Visitors of ?The Soft Atlas of Southeast? will be invited to see the places themselves; by foot, by bike or by car. On the locations the original drawings of Rothuizen are shown. These drawings are subjective maps and the visitor can compare the drawings with their own reality.

The following locations are represented by Rothuizen:

- A secret garden at a dim boundary

- A deserted shopping mall where the Dutch law is applied

- An apartment on the 8th floor of a ?Bijlmerbeliever?

- A space where drug abusers feel at home

- A temple hidden in green

- A residence for temporary visits of artists

The exhibition of the drawings opens at July 8th at CBK Zuidoost

More information: www.cbkzuidoost.nl