What would the world look like if giants walked among us? Would we have colossal houses and tiny buildings standing side by side? Separate roads and walkways for giants, so they wouldn’t accidentally squash their miniature brethren? As a ‘normal’ person, would there be a point to visiting a giant supermarket? Could you even lift one of their products into your trolley? And would we have massive pets that made our life massively unsafe? Giant cats playing with huge balls of wool?
The piece of yarn that London’s Studio Vertigo has stretched across the quays and through the water certainly points to something big going on. As if some massive creature has dropped its knitting. But the true titan in this story is the old crane at Entrepotdok, which seems to be heroically immersed in the task of pulling the yarn out of the water. Perhaps to prove it still has what it takes, with its ancient machinery. Or maybe it’s happy it can finally make a difference again. Show that it can do more than simply stand idle along the canal. Or perhaps the crane is reaching out to another local icon: the Nijlpaardenbrug, a bit further down. This bridge owes its name to a local resident’s claim that two hippos once crossed the water here. If you look under the bridge, you can see a huge ball of wool hanging there. The crane and the bridge. Two giants that are happily playing with a piece of yarn – finding each other in their common ties with local history.
Fun fact
Okay; no giants, but a lot of people who together managed to get the yarn over the crane, via the boat through the water and to the bridge. From the climbers in the crane to residents in the houseboat, to clerks of the municipality. And of course, the artists themselves. It all starts and ends with imagination, but in between there is actual hard work.
