Atelier Van Lieshout

De Stam

2015

Fiberglass
Divere measurements

The Tribe is a tribute to cooperation, the bedrock of all civilizations and culture. In the past, chances of survival improved by growing food together, collectively building shelters and cultivating the land as a group. Especially in The Netherlands with its dikes and land reclamation, its united fight against the water, cooperation was and still is key. The Frederik Hendrikplantsoen in Amsterdam previously was the site of saw mills, where wood was cut to build houses, furniture and the ships that made Holland a seafaring superpower in the 17th century. Joep van Lieshout reflected on this site’s history by creating a group of figures collecting wood and carrying tree trunks. The work is about collaboration and people working together in bands to build a city, a community, a future. The Dutch title of the work, ‘Stam’, significantly means both ‘tree trunk’ and ‘tribe’.