levi van veluw sites immersive blue 'sanctum' between two floors at het HEM in zaandam

situated in a former ammunition factory, Het HEM is a new home for contemporary culture in the dutch city of zaandam. here, seemingly floating between two floors lies ‘sanctum’, a deep blue, chapel-like installation by artist levi van veluw. visitors are invited to step inside the vast, all-blue chamber and contemplate the symbols and sculptural elements van veluw has installed. the work intends to examine what the architecture of the spiritual consists of, and the assignment of value to tangible objects within the immaterial realm of faith.

with ‘sanctum’ at Het HEM, van veluw questions the basis of devotion to altars, relics and icons, testing the boundaries that exist between an artistic and a spiritual experience. the artist has previously explored the idea of holy rooms and sacred objects — last year, at dello scompiglio, in lucca, italy, van veluw based a site-specific ‘sanctum’ on the first religious buildings. like the tabernacle, the work’s symmetry and harmony expressed the desire for ‘divine perfection’. as such, the artist plays with the age-old composition of the religious structure and lures spectators deeper and deeper into the sanctuary.

project info: 

artist: levi van veluw
name: sanctum
location: Het HEM