Laurens Kolks > spatial design

Service Station

production

An outdoor sign and an indoor model presentation for the Grenswerte exhibition at Kloster Bentlage, Rheine.

A temporary installation that takes the form of a small, apparently abandoned, gas station made out of wood. It provides a service to passing slow roamers: travellers that wander through the landscape by foot or bike along roads, paths and trails. Service Station features a rocking chair that is fixed in a lazy position and a vending machine instead of a pump. The vending machine offers passers-by the option to buy a set of five open objects. An open object is similar to what Richard Sennett describes in his book The Craftsman as a universal tool: “Because of its diversity this universal tool allows for all kinds of mysterious possibilities; it... can broaden our skills if only our imagination would be able to handle the situation. [It]... can be called sublime -whereby the term sublime... stands for the mighty unknown.”

The set of open objects that is vended through Service Station’s machine contains an uncut pencil, a rubber band, a patato peeler, a lighter and a dummy that has an imprint on its second page reading 'provoking the unknown'. An array of activities is possible by using any (combination) of these objects. They are the perfect companion to the very intimate journey experience that is the act of wandering.

Main project page

Click to return to the main project page