Dries Pruis, one of the other leaders of the campaign, stands with his installation ‘De Verbinding’ on the Brink in the village. He has created a special installation of puppets that represent the current political parties in the Netherlands. “I am annoyed that political parties refuse to work together,” he says frustrated. The artist from Dwingeloo therefore decided to create a work of art that expresses the search for connection within democratic society.
“The wind, an external force, causes the dolls to slide towards each other,” Pruis explains. “That is a symbol for how things should go in politics. You would like to use external pressure to call on the political parties to work together,” says the artist as he slides the dolls into place. “Work together and make something of it!”
Artist Janny van Meurs is also participating in the campaign. She is working on a painting full of words that fit democracy. “I didn’t think it was easy,” she says, laughing. “Because how should you portray democracy?” She dips her brush in a pot of blue paint and writes the word ‘tolerance’ on a white canvas. “Democracy is a concept that has to do with a lot of things. That is why I have searched for a lot of words that represent democracy. Think of solidarity, cooperation and tolerance.” She hopes that the action will make people think about what democracy is. “I see people talking to each other and that is exactly our goal.”