A memorial for the victims of the shooting on May 7th, 1945 at Dam Square in Amsterdam
Between June 2015 and March 2016, on the interactive website placeastone.nl, 15,509 virtual stones were placed that shaped the letters of the victims’ names. In this way the act of both co-design and commemoration acquires new meaning by giving people the opportunity to participate actively in the development en realisation of this unique memorial. On march 1, 2016, the collective end result was transferred to stone reliefs, and embedded in the pavement of the Dam Square. The memorial’s unveiling took place on may 7, 2016
Everyone who visited placeastone.nl was invited to add one small stone, and to replace one small stone per name. As a result the typeface was continually growing and shifting.
Starting as a single row of small stones, the typeface expanded with the burgeoning number of participants. More and more stones were placed and replaced, and more decisions were made: where can a letter be bigger, or fatter, or how can a letter become more readable? By being allowed to place only one stone and replacing another, the typeface transformed ceaselessly in the course of nine months. On march 1, 2016, placeastone.nl was discontinued. The end result was transferred to 31 separate granite slabs: one slab for each victim.
Place a Stone is a memorial dedicated to the victims of the shooting on May 7th, 1945 at the Dam Square in Amsterdam, two days after the Germans surrendered in the Netherlands.
Newspapers reported 19 to 40 casualties after the shooting. The drama was dismissed as an ‘ill-fated misunderstanding’. For decades in-depth research into the actual circumstances that led to the shooting and the number of casualties and their names failed to be undertaken, until the Foundation Memorial 2015 for Dam victims May 7 1945 stepped in. Thanks to the foundation’s efforts 31 victims have now been given a name and a face.
- Moniker Maurer
- Roel Wouters
- Jonathan Puckey
Project link
Judges Choice: Denise Gonzales Crisp
