It strikes Ahn that we often have this ‘ideal’ image in our head when we think about art and nature. A park, for example, should have some Special Database nice lawns, plenty of trees and beautiful meandering footpaths. By placing a huge billboard inside the park, this ideal image is broken, shifting focus to Ahn’s photograph rather than the peaceful green surroundings. The disruptive power of Ahn’s intervention in the park already became apparent on the first day when he was still busy installing the billboard. Axel Coumans, the artist in residence of the 49m2 before Ahn, did not realize a project on site which left the place unmaintained during spring.
Consequently the grass was tall, and weeds were growing everywhere. Ahn therefore felt like he had to cut the grass a bit so that it wouldn’t interfere too much with his own project. Funnily enough when he started to cut the grass, a woman passing by came up to him, worried about him destroying the artwork. She was angry and wanted to call Witte Rook to report Ahn’s ‘destructive’ behavior. Ahn still has to laugh when he tells me about the incident and explains that he is actually really happy with a response like this.