Metroscope

Metroscope invites visitors to participate in a journey shaped by innovative and/or iconic creators, storytellers and musicians interrogating our future. Matthijs Booij (founder of former platform Patty Morgan) designed this exhibition space as a platform for ever-evolving 'stations' inviting visitors to catch a glimpse of what the future holds for us through the lenses.

Each exhibition will be digitally archived and commemorated by engraving artist names into the stainless steel structure, building an ever-changing, dynamic mosaic of ideas and legacies straddling the past, present and future.

Metroscope's design refers to the artwork "Underground" by Siet Zuyderland, which was on display across the IJ from 1980 to 2015. For the opening of Amsterdam Central Metro station in 1980, Zuyderland’s ‘viewing boxes’ were installed in the entrance hall, inviting commuters to peer into whimsical and captivating hyperrealistic snapshots of futuristic-looking global underground networks. This depiction of artificially lit architecture palpably captures these environments as the epicentre of the then rapidly developing modern world.

Re-contextualising this work above ground, the arrival of Metroscope continues to inspire a new wave of artists to imagine and respond to our unknown futures.