Sarah van Sonsbeeck

Silent Spots in Noord

According to the residents, these are the silent spots of Amsterdam-Noord. Bear in mind that if you go there, the place will become less silent. That perhaps is the paradox of silence: if we seek it out, it disappears. Our bodies also make sounds; a human body walking without speaking produces up to 40dB, depending on the type of footgear.

If you think of silence in a three-dimensional way, The Netherlands turns out to have unsuspected mountains and valleys; a barking dog can cause a mountain peek, while the rare absence of birds and crickets can leave a crater. There is an unknown moonscape of silence with peeks and craters, as intangible as silence itself.

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Silent Spots in Noord - This map is based on a map of the city of Amsterdam, source http://www.amsterdam.nl/stilleplekken. The indicators show places that were marked as silent by the residents. Sarah van Sonsbeeck