Bijlmer. Atlas of People and Birds

BIJLMER is totally hot and happening. This versatile district contains extensive nature, a recreational lake, numerous activities for children, innovative artistic expression and a multicultural shopping experience.

I amsterdam city guide

Irina Popova Bijlmer: Atlas of People and Birds

Dostoevsky Publishing

“Welcome to the Bijlmermeer, ‘Bijlmer’ for short or ‘the Bimmer’ for those in the know. This Amsterdam borough used to be synonymous with crime, drugs, unemployment and illegal immigrants.”

Humanity in Action

Get out at the metro stop Ganzenhoef. Go down and go past the big gates. If you don’t have a card, press the door of the metro hard.

Then walk straight on, past the ridiculously cheap market and the police office, and a big building which hosts a kind of luxurious

city hall. Walk all the way along the metro lines, which create a new perspective to everything you see.

Walk until you find something interesting or exciting. It’s right here.

The metro lines come to a dead end here.

Nobody uses the word “ghetto” here. And neither do they use “multiculturalism” or “melting pot”. It’s just an ordinary place, like anywhere else.

There are so many birds here.

“In September 1993, the media reported that the El Al Boeing had contained dangerous cargo. Some portion of the cargo proved to be Israeli national defense materials.�

Wikipedia

“The birds are social, just like human beings. They can love, suffer, be jealous and hate.�

After getting off at the metro stop Kraaiennest turn around three times. Now don’t think anymore which way to go, because which ever way you turn, you’ll find something.

I advice you to go to the right.

After the mosque turn right again.

Then after the leopard pained building, you’ll see a place which doesn’t serve it’s original purpose. And the people live in a place inappropriate for living. We’re here.

“The birds know no borders.

They can freely choose where they live — where there is enough food, shelter and safety to breed”.

“The guy disappeared into one of the entrances of Kleiburg building. Two days later I caught him on one of the balcony passageways�.

“In order to reduce crime, they decided to tear down most of the honeycomb futuristic buildings.�

The neighbours said, she was away for several months, on the addiction treatment in Groningen.

After the metro stop Arena you have to pass through the shopping streets, which are laid out like a honeycomb structure. You pass the police office and go under a bridge, and after a big empty square you turn right, and follow the channel, until you come to an intersection of two bridges, with a house right above them. This is where the seagulls live. The seagulls which never see the sea.

Papa Giakutu has fourteen children from seven wives.

“A deep economic crisis in the eighties, partly caused by these high social costs, forced the respective governments to introduce fundamental changes in the social security system�.

Dirk Beekman Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment

Enter the park near the new glamorous theatre. Go to the big pool and stand to the left of the big oak tree.

Throw the bread crumbs in the air until the birds start to come to you.

ENVER “They feed the birds with bad bread, and the birds get sick. I take the sick birds home and cure them. �

“I share my social benefits with the birds.

They deserve it as well.�

“These birds from 1960s don’t exist here any more. Humans have pushed the birds out of this place.”

“I had to photograph all the guns, and violence, the pools of blood in the elevator.

Instead of that I photographed the birds”.

“These humans will never change or learn something. If they don’t need a fridge, any more, they’ll throw it from the window”.

“This heron was one of those whom I fed the whole winter. I found him hanged on the string from the bridge. Yes, after photographing it from all sides, I took him off the string and buried him.�

Acknowledgements My greatest appreciation goes to Teresa R., Jeritza Toney, Enver and all the residents of Bijlmer who kindly allowed me to document their life. This project would not have been possible without their exceptional trust and openness and I’m grateful to each of them. I am very grateful to Renske de Jong and all the staff of CBK Zuidoost who were so kind and helpful during my whole artist-in-residence in BijlmAIR. Many thanks to the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts for the generous support of the project.

I am forever indebted to Natalia Eremina for her assistance in editing and designing this book, her wonderful leadership, her generosity and patience. Special thanks to Leo Erken, Sebastian Lister Martin Nyberg for encouragement and

advice they provided along the way.

Thanks to Daphne Carrasco for emotional support and always believing in what I do. Big thanks to Samir Dadashzade for being there and keeping me smiling and happy, and making the process clear and effective, for good taste and good eye.

Thanks to Reinier de Vlaam for technical support. I am so greateful to my mother and father, Lyubov Popova and Alexey Popov, for their encouragement, accepting and unconditional love.

And lastly, Many thanks to Keyon de Vlaam for being the best boy and the most talented young artist in the world, for his enthusiasm, help, participation and input. Without his collaboration this project wouldn’t have been the same.

Photographs © 2014, Irina Popova Drawings © 2014, Irina Popova & Keyon de Vlaam Texts © 2014, Irina Popova, open media and residents of Bijlmer Edit Natalia Eremina, Irina Popova, Samir Dadashzade and Leo Erken Design © Natalia Eremina and Dostoevsky Publishing Cover © Anton Chizhenok Printing: Aeroprint, the Netherlands Produced during the artist-in-residency program BijlmAIR First presented in CBK Zuidoost in October 2014 Supported by CBK Zuidoost and Amsterdam Fund for the Arts

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.

All questions of use of materials and distribution: Dostoevsky Publishing, the Netherlands dostoevskypublishing@gmail.com. +31 6 474 98983 © 2014, Dostoevsky Publishing Dostoevsky Photography www.dossoc.com ISBN 978-90-821704-3-6W

www.irinapopova.net