| Does someone want some | |
| life experience from me? | |
| I never use it... | |
| Wil er iemand wat | Will jemand meine |
| levenservaring van mij? | Lebenserfahrung? Ich selbst -- |
| Ik doe er niks mee... | mache nichts damit... |
Amsterdam, 2026-06-08
Exercise in futility (Theo Maassen) - 2024
Cabaret show "Onbegonnen werk" (2024-2025)
Collection: VacantVoid
Tribute to: Maassen, Theo
| Philosophers are | |
| exiles, for no one follows -- | |
| them, their discernment. | |
| Filosofen zijn | Philosophen sind |
| ballingen, want niemand volgt -- | Verbannte, denn niemand folgt -- |
| hen, hun inzichten. | ihren Einsichten. |
Amsterdam, 2026-05-15
Mozes Maimonides - 1204
Maimonides (1138-1204) was a Jewish physician in an Islamic society, for whom being Jewish was not a religious matter, but entailed following traditional laws, rites, and ceremonies
Collection: Half The Work
Tribute to: Maimonides, Moses
| If you're that crazy, | |
| I can help you! Shall I take -- | |
| it out of your head? | |
| Als jij zó gek bent, | Wenn du so verrückt |
| kan ik helpen! Zal ik het -- | bist, kann ich helfen: es dir -- |
| uit jouw hoofd halen? | aus dem Kopf nehmen! |
Amsterdam, 2026-05-06
Cutting the Stone (Hieronymus Bosch) - 1494
Painting "Extracción de la piedra de la locura" ("Cutting the Stone" / "The Extraction of the Stone of Madness") - A surgeon removes the flower of folly from the skull
Collection: Pending rain
Tribute to: Bosch, Hieronymus
| I have a request: | |
| stop making me think of you! | |
| It is up to you! | |
| Ik heb een verzoek: | Ich habe eine |
| stop ermee om mij aan jou -- | Bitte: hör auf, mich an dich -- |
| te laten denken! | denken zu lassen! |
Amsterdam, 2025-11-27
The hippopotamus sat down at his table (Toon Tellegen) - 2019
Short story "Het nijlpaard ging aan zijn tafel zitten", published in the collections "De droom van het nijlpaard" (2019), and "Ze wisten er meer van" (2020)
Collection: Perhaps / Some day / Occasionally / Almost
Tribute to: Tellegen, Toon
| Taking the wrong path | |
| and then continuing on -- | |
| where there is no path. | |
| De verkeerde weg | Nach dem falschen Weg |
| nemen en dan doorlopen -- | weitergehen, obwohl es -- |
| waar geen pad meer is. | keinen Weg mehr gibt. |
Amsterdam, 2025-08-02
Choosing wrongly, loosing one's way (Frida Vogels) - 1994
Verse "Verkeerd kiezen, zich in de weg vergissen", published in the collection "De harde kern 3" ("The hard core 3", part VII [Acquiescence]), and in "Diary 1964-1965" (2008) - September 27th, 1965, Bologna
Collection: Self-portraits
Tribute to: Vogels, Frida
| The ignorant who | |
| think they know, disagree and -- | |
| remain divided. | |
| De onwetenden | Die Unwissenden, |
| die denken het te weten -- | die glauben, sie wüssten es -- |
| worden het niet eens. | sind sich uneinig. |
Amsterdam, 2025-06-04
Idea #415 (Multatuli) - 1879
About God's will: "No one knows, and those who claim to know disagree among themselves"
Collection: Unseen
Tribute to: Multatuli
| It is still the same: | |
| Israel is deaf, allows -- | |
| its prophets too late. | |
| Het gaat nog steeds zo: | Es gilt immer noch: |
| Israël is doof, erkent -- | Israel ist taub, erkennt -- |
| profeten te laat. | Propheten zu spät. |
Amsterdam, 2025-05-31
Collection: Greeting from before
| It is lunatic | |
| to dare to do everything -- | |
| Then you're really one! | |
| Het is idioot | Es ist ja irre, |
| om alles te durven doen -- | sich alles zuzutrauen -- |
| Dan ben je er een! | Dann ist man einer! |
Amsterdam, 2025-05-17
Crooks in Clover (Michel Audiard / Georges Lautner) - 1963
Film "Les tontons flingueurs" ("Gun-toting Uncles", screenplay Michel Audiard, direction Georges Lautner)
'Les cons, ça ose tout et c'est même à ça qu'on les reconnaît' (Idiots dare anything and that's even how you recognise them)
Collection: Willegos
Tribute to: Audiard, Michel
| Everyone stays home, | |
| the world is full of monkeys -- | |
| it is a circus. | |
| Iedereen blijft thuis, | Man bleibt zu Hause, |
| de wereld zit vol apen -- | die Welt ist voller Affen -- |
| ze is een circus. | sie ist ein Zirkus. |
Amsterdam, 2025-02-06
Proverb (Anon. [Poland]) - 2021
Polish proverb "Nie mój cyrk, nie moje ma?py" ("not my circus, not my monkeys": it isn't mý problem)
Solo-performance "Niet mijn apen, niet mijn circus" ("Not my monkeys, not my circus", 2021-2023, Wim Helsen)
Collection: Bruises
Tribute to: Anon. [Polska]; Helsen, Wim
| Ah, I would like to | |
| educate my enemies -- | |
| And my friends as well. | |
| Ach, mijn vijanden | Ja, meine Feinde |
| zou ik willen opvoeden -- | möchte ich erziehen, und -- |
| En mijn vrienden ook. | meine Freunde auch. |
De Koog, 2024-09-21
Requiem for a friend (Han Voskuil) - 2002
Novel "Requiem voor een vriend", chapter 1961-1964, December 28th, 1963 - Amsterdam, Jan Bruggeman ['Breugelman'] (and Han Voskuil)
Collection: Dirty hands
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han
| Tell me, what do they | |
| know, the nationalists, | |
| of their own country? | |
| Ach, wat weten ze, | Ach, was wissen sie, |
| de nationalisten, | die Nationalisten, |
| van hun eigen land? | über unser Land? |
De Koog, 2024-09-21
Requiem for a friend (Han Voskuil) - 2002
Novel "Requiem voor een vriend", chapter 1965-1985, June 5th, 1974 - The Hague, concept of an article by Jan Bruggeman ('Breugelman')
Collection: Dirty hands
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han
| A confused person | |
| still assumes that others know -- | |
| what they are doing. | |
| Wie in de war is | Wer verwirrt ist, glaubt |
| denkt nog steeds dat anderen -- | immer noch, dass andere -- |
| weten wat ze doen. | wissen, was sie tun. |
Amsterdam, 2024-08-26
The Black Prince (Iris Murdoch) - 1973
Comical novel, A Celebration of Love, part Two
Collection: Dreams of love
Tribute to: Murdoch, Iris
| How stupid I am! | |
| Hm, then we are both stupid -- | |
| but you, why are you? | |
| Wat ben ik toch dom! | Oh, ich bin so dumm! |
| Hm, dan zijn we het beiden -- | Hmm, dann sind wir beide dumm -- |
| maar jij, waarom jij? | aber warum du? |
Amsterdam, 2024-08-05
Henry and Cato (Iris Murdoch) - 1976
Novel, part One, Rites of passage
Collection: Longing and Loss
Tribute to: Murdoch, Iris
| There is no wisdom | |
| in the East, no, everywhere -- | |
| people are foolish. | |
| Er is geen wijsheid | Weisheit im Osten |
| in het oosten, overal -- | existiert nicht, überall -- |
| zijn de mensen dwaas. | sind die Menschen dumm. |
Amsterdam, 2024-06-29
The Enchantress of Florence (Salman Rushdie) - 2008
Novel, part 3, chapter 18
Collection: Wind
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman
| Much stupidity, | |
| the older you get, the more -- | |
| you recognise it. | |
| Er is veel domheid, | Es gibt viel Dummheit, |
| hoe ouder je wordt, hoe meer -- | je älter man wird, desto -- |
| je dat onderkent. | mehr man das erkennt. |
Amsterdam, 2023-04-04
Collection: The drama
|
Being on everybody's tongue and being |
Amsterdam, 2022-11-03
Close (Lukas Dhont) - 2022
Essay "Le leggi fondamentali della stupidità umana" ("The basic laws of human stupidity", 1976, Carlo Cipolla [Pavia 1922-2000]): there are bandits, intelligent, helpless and stupid people
Film "Close" (Lukas Dhont)
Collection: Froend
Tribute to: Dhont, Lukas; Cipolla, Carlo
| Do you also make | |
| the mistake of going on -- | |
| with what you can't do? | |
| Maak jij ook de fout | Machst du auch immer |
| om door te gaan, door te gaan -- | weiter und weiter mit dem -- |
| met wat je niet kunt? | was du nicht tun kannst? |
Amsterdam, 2022-07-09
Like it or not - Faxing to Ger #4 (Nicolien Mizee) - 2021
Diary-novel "Hoog en laag springen - Faxen aan Ger #4"
Chase a dream
Sunk costs fallacy
Collection: In the shadow
Tribute to: Mizee, Nicolien
|
The voyage is turbulent |
Amsterdam, 2022-06-05
The Ship of Fools (Plato) - -407
"Ship of fools" (in book IV of "Politeia" ["The Republic"], 407 BC, Plato)
"Het narrenschip" ("The Ship of Fools", 1491, Hieronymus Bosch)
"Ship of Fools" and "Land Ho!" (album "Morrison Hotel", 1970, The Doors)
Since 1900, the North Magnetic Pole has shifted 1,100 km towards Canada, and since 1850, the strength of the magnetic field has decreased by 10%
Collection: Migration
Tribute to: Plato; Bosch, Jheronymus
| I create the earth, | |
| all, but people, that mistake -- | |
| I won't make again. | |
| Ik schep de aarde, | Ich schaffe alles, |
| alles, maar mensen, die fout -- | Menschen nicht, diesen Fehler -- |
| maak ik nu niet meer. | mach ich nicht wieder. |
Amsterdam, 2022-03-21
Not again (Ali Serik) - 2018
Poem "Niet nog een keer" (collection "De stem die baart")
Collection: Human excess
Tribute to: Serik, Ali
|
People are too short old |
Amsterdam, 2021-06-14
Girl (John Lennon, The Beatles) - 1965
Song (album "Rubber Soul")
Collection: Lilith's Powers
Tribute to: Lennon, John; The Beatles
| Freedom: being free | |
| from stupidity, it is -- | |
| everyone's ordeal. | |
| Vrijheid is vrij zijn | Freiheit heißt frei sein |
| van domheid, de beproeving -- | von Dummheit, diese Tortur -- |
| van alle mensen. | für alle Menschen. |
Amsterdam, 2021-03-30
Collection: The light of words
|
The Day won't come, it has already been |
Amsterdam, 2019-02-14
Collection: The Praised One
|
My reflecting fearsome brain |
Amsterdam, 2017-02-24
Collection: On living on [2]
|
This town has stars: |
Amsterdam, 2016-12-12
Collection: I am
| The man drove so fast | |
| that he was first to arrive -- | |
| at his accident. | |
| De man reed zo snel | Der Mann fuhr so schnell, |
| dat hij als eerste aankwam -- | dass er als erster ankam -- |
| bij zijn ongeluk. | an seinem Unfall. |
Amsterdam, 2011-11-18
Collection: Migration
