Project

MULTROPOLIS
Dora Lionstone & Benny van der Plank

Full-scale installation of Multropolis

What role do urban environments play in a time marked by constant change? As individuals, we each move through our reality based on a mental map, a construction formed by previous experiences that influences how we interpret our surroundings. With these internal impressions, we all build a different picture of reality.

Inspired by the idea of mental maps, Dora Lionstone and Benny van der Plank propose the experience of an imaginary city that offers myriad possibilities for new, shared experiences. For their collaborative installation Multropolis, the artists merged their image archives of various cities they had previously photographed and organized them into new categories and "mental cubes".

The sides of the cubes refer to different elements of cities that can shape a mental map, such as paths, edges or nodes. By adding nature as an opposing element to urban life, the two artists include a metaphor for the need for solace, imagination and dreams in times of turmoil.

Multropolis miniature cubes and prints in the studio

With Multropolis, Dora Lionstone and Benny van der Plank construct a multifaceted environment out of building blocks that changes with every new setup and depends on the viewer's subjective perspective. The installation consists of more than 300 images mounted on over 50 hand made cubes, arranged into a structure of 2,7 x 2,7 x 2,1 meters.

Multropolis aims to encourage viewers to create their own mental maps by paying attention to the details and connections that appear when one stays open to new perspectives in an ever-changing environment.

Miniature model of Multropolis

The installation is part of the exhibition 'Tijdgeest en Spookbeelden' at NDSM Fuse and is on view from 21 April 2023 until 20 August 2023.