Artwork description:

At the end of the nineteenth century, wooden sailing ships were replaced by steel boats. The old wooden sailing ships were bought and transformed into living spaces; house-ships. In times of housing crises, especially around the outskirts of town like in Amsterdam-Noord, slums on water emerged. Houseboats gained popularity during the course of the twentieth century. Especially after the First and Second World War, the amount of people living on the water rose quickly. The main reason for this was a severe housing shortage. In these times, the boats were sometimes occupied by more than one family. However, not only those in desperate need of housing found themselves turning to boats. The rich were also attracted to life on water; the houseboats were an opportunity to be able to shuttle between city and nature. These fancier houseboats were usually located in the Amstel river. In 1918, a law was installed requiring all residents of houseboats and trailers to get a permit for their places of residence, all children were required to go to school, and alcohol consumption had to be limited.

Materials used:

Giclée print using pigment inks on Hahnemühle Baryta FB paper.

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