Whoseywhats

A work inspired by the multiplicity of languages spoken in Utrecht and how different cultures contribute a shifting dynamic to a city. Forty translators from twenty linguistic groups engage sequentially with a poem about identity. The poem travels through all the languages with Dutch acting as a link between them.

Each translation reveals subtle permutations of meaning and emphasis and reflects the complexities of similarity and difference we experience as human beings. This “travelling poem” is realised both in book form and as a kinetic sculptural intervention in the city by Dutch artist Gijs van Bon everyday throughout the Festival A/D Werf.
Commissioned by Festival A/D Werf, Utrecht.