stadsplateau
ghost town
FRONT404
animals as a mirage
At dusk, ghostly animals can be spotted among the plants around the station area. They seem to emerge out of nowhere, in dark corners you would normally walk straight past. Their outlines glow with a pale light while their silhouettes only reflect the office buildings around them, making them appear like some portal to another world, or a hole in reality. All the different animals in Ghost Town are animals that might have lived here in Utrecht, if not for the city and the many people living there making that impossible. It becomes a real scavenger hunt: how many of these city residents can you spot along the way? Which animal is hunting another?
Audiotour
The animals are a glimpse at an alternate reality where animals inhabit the space that people and the city now occupy
Perhaps they are an apparition from the distant past, when this was all unspoiled wilderness, or perhaps it’s a vision of a future when the city lies abandoned by people, to be reclaimed by nature. As we saw around the world during the Covid lockdowns, once the people are gone, even temporarily, it does not take long for animals to wander back in and claim the streets as their own.
Ghost Town aims to make us think of these possible different realities, about our relationship as people to the animals that share our world, and about the tension between nature and the city, as we’ve recently seen with the reactions to the wolf finally returning to the Netherlands.
Mirrors, mirages, miracles
With the animals, the makers create a subtle, reflective play of light. Their transparent surfaces both let the environment pass through and mirror it within their forms. Depending on the surrounding light, you may or may not see what is happening behind the animals.
With this work, FRONT404 once again lets nature gently reclaim space, much as they did before with Overgrown in the Sijpesteijntunnel.
KUNSTENAAR
FRONT404
Thomas voor ’t Hekke en Bas van Oerle
FRONT404 is an artist duo from Utrecht creating interactive installations. Through accessible, direct interaction, they aim to reach people in innovative, meaningful and playful ways. Their work forges unexpected connections and focuses on memorable experiences, driven by the belief that these moments can inspire people to see the world from a new perspective.
Many of FRONT404’s projects are shaped by their mission to make the world a more playful place, where art not only surprises, but also connects and invites wonder.
