Black Water shows an obscured world in Amsterdam that will disappear in only a few months. In the middle of the new and comfortable residential area of Zeeburgereiland visitors will get a intimate experience of a space that was once our shared sewage system. A hidden space in one of Amsterdam’s main public works, to which all inhabitants contributed for decades, by visiting their toilets.

Black Water embodies the origins of Zeeburgereiland. The three sewage treatment silo’s have been standing around in a desolate atmosphere for decades. RAAAF’s intervention emphasizes forgotten qualities in our contemporary cities. Black Water let you enter darkness, silence and absence, contrasting strongly with the young urban neighbourhood that surrounds the silo nowadays.

With the installation Black Water, RAAAF once again points to the unique hidden qualities of 10.000 vacant public buildings in the Netherlands. The silo’s represent the disappearance of unique affordances and experiences all over our cities. Often it is forgotten that these vacant public buildings don’t belong to the real estate market but are common resources that potentially could be available to all inhabitants in society.

Black Water will open to the public from 11 to 25 November. There are currently no tickets available.