Schermafbeelding 2020-06-02 om 11.21.17.png
Bikes with a maximum width of 1,5 mere are allowed in public space (Art. 5.18.29). Hight and length were never included in the law, so I started building.
My attempt to appropriate a part of public space got appropriated.
I started a conversation. When the response turned out to be in Polish, I decided to continue in this language.
With every letter I wrote, I also changed something to the bike. A lamp, a lock, etc.
After several letters, I found out I got responses in different handwritings.
There where three people living in my 0,9m x 1,80m bike.
They asked me whether it was fine if they would stay there a bit longer. “Of course! As long as you take good care of the bike”. And they did. They started to clean up, make there bed every morning. Quite a nice little shed.
But then the rain came. And I knew there was one big problem: The roof was not waterproof. “Use this silicone sealant to seal the roof”.
But unfortunately, they ignored my advice. Because they had a better solution. A waterproof idea, but also quite a shabby one.
At this point, the police started to notice this weird looking object.
The next morning I found my bike completely trashed. No sign of the Polish people.
The day after I found the last remainings of what once was the house to three people.
For me, this story of the Polish people is quite exemplary for how we look at public space. For two weeks everything was fine because the bike looked descent. The moment the Polish people started to improve the house in their own pragmatic way, you
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