Atelier Van Lieshout

Never, Never, Never Give Up

2023

Mixed media
1100 x 600 x 850 cm

Never, Never, Never Give Up is an artists’ studio reflecting on the end of the world and how to prevent it. It is a collection of three buildings developed by Atelier Van Lieshout, in which positive action and positive thinking go hand in hand with the possibility of doomsday scenarios.

The three buildings include: a housing unit, an atelier and a prepper’s den (survival bunker). Artists, curators and researchers temporarily residing on Ruigoord can stay and work here. Visitors to the oasis are welcome to descend and visit this survival bunker deep underground.

With Never, Never, Never Give Up, Van Lieshout appeals to the DIY spirit that AVL shares with the sanctuary that is Ruigoord. The addition of the prepper’s den (a shelter where someone can survive war or the end of the world) plays on the current sense of threat felt by many. However, in Ruigoord, danger comes in many forms and is ever present. The green, peaceful oasis is coming under increasing threat by surrounding industry and encroaching housing development. Yet a creative resistance persists here, in the midst of seemingly overwhelming economic forces.

Never, Never, Never Give Up (2023) was part of the following exhibition(s):
50 jaar Ruigoord, Ruigoord, Amsterdam (NL), 2023 – 2026

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com