Safe Me (2020)

Since he came to Amsterdam in 2001, Bas Kosters has had an intrinsic need to relate to stuff on the street. In the past, he frequently took to the streets with a shopping cart in order to search for treasures, things or materials that he could use in his work. He attempts to get close to the core of objects by portraying them in different ways. In Refresh Amsterdam, he seeks to uncover the romantic and sensitive soul of a lifeless object, in this case, the traffic cone. To Kosters, the cone has an irresistible appeal: ‘I come across it everywhere in the world, but in Amsterdam it’s my ally and my fellow citizen.’ He investigates the ways in which this object affects him and the feelings it evokes, how it is attractive and at the same time alarming because it should protect against possible danger. Kosters creates a mixed­media installation with textiles, film, costumes and photography in which the traffic cone takes centre stage. He wants to get us to look at this generic object with fresh eyes—and thus also in a new way at Amsterdam and its residents.