Babette Wagenvoort, 2005

Location: De Buutplaats Primary School, Hoefkade 677, The Hague

'So the Cookie Crumbles' is an art project created by Babette Wagenvoort for the new building of De Buutplaats Primary School in The Hague’s Schilderswijk district.

On the website www.nieuwenederlandsespreekwoorden.nl, Babette collected proverbs from all possible languages for six months, which, when translated into Dutch, could potentially become new Dutch proverbs.

The criteria she used for selecting a proverb were: the proverb does (yet) not exist in the Dutch language, it must be evocative, and it could possibly enrich the Dutch language and culture.

The final list of 117 proverbs from more than 20 languages was a selection from the large number of proverbs Babette received via the internet, email, conversations with parents of De Buutplaats, and through friends, family, and acquaintances.

Babette chose 27 texts from this list, illustrated them, and almost forty enamel signs were made and hung throughout De Buutplaats Primary School. These red-and-white signs have become standalone visual stories, where their origins are no longer relevant. It remains to be seen whether the children of De Buutplaats, who are growing up with these sometimes very mysterious or poetic texts, will start using them as proverbs. If they do, these texts will indeed become new Dutch proverbs.

Visual artist Babette Wagenvoort (1970) lives and works in The Hague and was educated at AKI (Enschede) and the Royal College of Art in London. For more information, visit www.babettewagenvoort.com.

Additional financial support: Mondriaan Fund.