Bin Koh | Table of Contents
Find below documentation of a recent public art project by Bin Koh, alum of finished temporary programme Master of Voice (2016–2018) developed in the context of a collaboration between Sandberg Instituut, (Nelly&)Theo van Doesburg Foundation, and BPD property development. Photography by Sander van Wettum.
The artist Bin Koh created a public artwork in Amsterdam’s newest neighbourhood, Zeeburgereiland. It is located on Eef Kamerbeekstraat, between three high-rise buildings by the architects Arons & Gelauff.
Entitled Table of Contents, the artwork is a tiled, concrete barbecue table that combines grotesque elements with a cosy, familial spirit. The inhabitants of the three surrounding WOON& buildings have been invited to write their favourite recipes, which are integrated on a web platform by the artist.
Koh: “When I was a child, my mother would put whiteboard markers next to the glass dining table so that we could draw whatever came into our minds, directly onto the table. I’m not a product designer or an architect, but this childhood memory of eating, drinking, digesting, and sharing experiences with specific objects kept flooding back to me when I was considering a public art project for WOON&.”
The work invites inhabitants to contemplate savoured memories of cooking and to share a table. People can sit together, put charcoal in the middle of the table, grill food and enjoy their meal. Inspired by the difficulty of breaking set hierarchies in Korean culture, Koh considers the potential of a common table to influence social codes. In essence, the artwork is asking: what makes for an intimate setting with neighbours? What creates intimacy between people? What enables people to speak out?
The integration of a public artwork into a given place ultimately depends on the response of its users. Unlike artistic interventions that are not context-specific or have only a single function, Koh has opted for a remarkably open approach. While she is inviting the inhabitants of Eef Kamerbeekstraat to participate—inviting them to write down recipes, organising future events—she is also keeping things open: the artwork is an open-ended proposal addressed to all.
The public art work is developed in the context of a collaboration between Sandberg Instituut, (Nelly&)Theo van Doesburg Foundation, and BPD property development that aim to position artists and their works in the public space of Amsterdam.
Laurens Otto, Jacques Heinrich Toussaint, edited by Jules van den Langenberg 2022
