{"id":178954,"date":"2025-05-13T15:04:33","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T13:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=178954"},"modified":"2026-01-16T16:48:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:48:44","slug":"mystery-sculptures-fate-unclear-as-g-building-shuts-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/05\/13\/mystery-sculptures-fate-unclear-as-g-building-shuts-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery sculpture\u2019s fate unclear as G building shuts down"},"content":{"rendered":"

A life-sized steel artwork has stood quietly in the G building for over a decade, watched by students, passed by lecturers, but owned by no one. With the upcoming closing of the building, the university\u2019s art department doesn\u2019t know what to do with this piece, and keeps looking for the artist.<\/p>\n

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The hand of the artwork has many details.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEsther Dijkstra<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cIt\u2019s a mystery where it came from or who made it\u201d, says Luuk Bode of the art department. The sculpture, a humanoid figure made of steel wires, has been there at least as long as Luuk has, around a decade. The artwork is on the second floor, near the stairwell further down the corridor. \u201cWe\u2019ve tried googling it, but there are quite a lot of steel-wire works out there\u201d, explains Bode. He adds that there is no recognisable \u2018handwriting to it\u2019. He couldn\u2019t find an artist matching this style in his research.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t put it in my garden\u201d, he adds with a laugh. \u201cI can see it was done very skillfully, and the artist understood proportions and materials. But it doesn\u2019t have enough character to touch me personally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s responsible?<\/h2>
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The artwork is located on the second floor of the G building.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEsther Dijkstra<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Technically, the art department is not responsible for maintaining this artwork as it\u2019s not part of the University\u2019s art collection. Still, someone seems to have taken care of it, Bode explains. Some of the limbs have been roughly repaired with flexible wire. \u201cLook here\u201d, he points at the sculpture\u2019s right arm. \u201cSomeone\u2019s tried to fix this. And there\u2019s barely any dust on the art work. Some people on the floor may be quite fond of this steel man, they might have looked after it\u201d, he adds with a smile.<\/p>\n

The G building will close soon, but Bode says the art department has no idea what to do with this situation. He hopes that somebody claims it or identifies the artist before the building closes. A few years ago, he recalls, someone emailed him to ask if they could take the sculpture home. \u201cBut we can\u2019t give away what isn\u2019t ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lost artworks<\/h2>

Normally, Bode spends his time searching for art, not artists. With the university\u2019s art-on-loan system for the staff, works sometimes go missing when people change jobs or offices. \u201cThere\u2019s actually a \u2018wanted list\u2019 \u00a0for lost pieces, he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce, someone brought us a cheap museum poster, thinking it was part of the collection\u201d, he recalls. He was ready to throw it out until he took it apart. \u201cOn the back of the poster, behind the frame, I found a very valuable Bridget Riley piece. It found its way back to the collection.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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Do you know more about the sculpture? Please contact the editorial team<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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