Rémy Zaugg
The Bridges of Arnhem

Although the neon work, ‘The Bridges of Arnhem’, by Swiss artist Rémy Zaugg can only be seen on the Nelson Mandelabrug (Nelson Mandela Bridge), the plural used in the title suggests an added intention. Zaugg took part in the exhibition, ‘Sonsbeek ’93’, with the intention of decorating two of the Rhine’s bridges with letter friezes that would allude to the history and the geographical location of Arnhem.

With the chosen neon words, the artist wanted to point out the Rhine’s status as being a link between the Black Sea and the North Sea. In addition to this the words were meant as a literal bridging between North Arnhem and South Arnhem. Zaugg wanted to remove the division between the old city and the city’s new district located on the other side of the bridge. Initially the plan was also intended as a homage to the soldiers that had fought in the Battle of Arnhem during World War II. To this end the words would not only have appeared in Dutch but would also have been translated into English, Polish and German. Nevertheless the original plan was too ambitious and a few elements of the first draft were abandoned. The realized work was limited to the Mandelabrug which now reads the following neon words in Dutch: ‘houses, wind, the stream, the distance, the utopia, Indonesia, boats, the sea, blue sky’. This narrative series is visible during the day and at night since the neon automatically lights up as soon as it becomes dark. (Xandra de Jongh)