Let's talk money
Museum: Depot Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Client: Rabobank Art Lab
Duration: May 2024 - Jan 2025
Curators: Verily Klaassen & Carlijn Kingma
Project leader: Verily Klaassen
Production leader: Danielle Laudy
Spatial design: On Show
Object design: Adriaan de Groot & On Show
Video: Maaike Engels
Photo: Adriaan de Groot & Peter Cox
Artworks by
Carlijn Kingma - The Waterworks of Money
Mart Verldhuis - Eigen Schuld, Constant - Spatiovore, Albrecht Dürer Reprint by Goldin+Senneby’s - Melencolia, Arne Hendriks - AbunDANCE, Meschac Gaba, Tim Breukers - Pinball machine, Chaim van Luit - The Wishing Well Revealed
Step into the intricate world of The Waterworks of Money, a thought-provoking exhibition at Depot in Boijmans Van Beuningen. Designed to immerse visitors in the work of cartographer Carlijn Kingma, this exhibition transforms the complex structures of our monetary and financial systems into tangible, accessible visual drawings.
At the heart of the exhibition is a circular space, inviting discussion and reflection. This spatial design, inspired by Kingma’s detailed hand-drawn visualizations, echoes the fluid metaphor of money as water—an interconnected system that flows through every aspect of our lives. Steel threads stretch delicately across the space, their fine lines mirroring the textures and intricacies of Kingma’s drawings, creating an atmospheric and tactile environment that draws visitors closer to the work.
Kingma’s visual explorations are joined by artworks from the Rabo Art Collection and loaned pieces, including works by Tim Breukers, Constant A. Nieuwenhuys, and others. Together, these pieces expand the conversation about money, debt, and the societal impact of financial systems.
This exhibition is not just a display but a space for engagement—a place where the structure of money, its influence, and its possibilities for reform can be questioned and reimagined. Through its design, Waterworks of Money invites you to not only see but to interact, think, and discuss, redefining how we perceive the systems that shape our world.