Tag: The Hague

by Fiana Gantheret Scaffold The wooden installation by the American artist Sam Durant looks like a gigantic children's play structure and stands on the grass next to the International Zone in The Hague, The Netherlands. The sign at the bottom of the stairs is daunting: "Access at your own risk - Children under guidance only - Beware of slippery and protruding parts - Do not climb". A large metallic staircase located on one side of the installation brings the visitor to a wooden floor made up of several levels. Each level is composed of a reconstructed wooden gallow that was used in an execution "of historical significance in the United States", one can read on a sign visible on the platform. The announcement at the bottom of the installation, the "protruding parts", the slippery stairs... seems to have a meaning : one cannot approach - let alone access - a scaffold without risk and roughness being involved.