Gijs Assmann, 2004

Location: J.C. Pleysierschool De Zefier & Pedological Institute, Dr. van Welylaan 4, The Hague

J.C. Pleysierschool De Zefier is a school for secondary special education. It provides education for Stichting De Jutter, the center for child and adolescent psychiatry in The Hague. The school has approximately 90 students aged between 12 and 19 years. They attend the school for up to one and a half to two years, a period linked to psychotherapeutic treatment at De Jutter.

The core of the commission for artist Gijs Assmann was to create a distinctive and recognizable space for the school within the complex. He designed fairy-tale figures such as a monkey stepping out of a melting snowman, a dressed-up wolf, a peacock hanging from a trapeze, and a sleeping bird. These whimsical characters were crafted in ceramics and are arranged throughout the school against a backdrop of mysterious painted landscapes on the walls. Assmann engaged with the school community during the preparations by teaching there to establish closer contact with students and teachers. The project was completed on August 31, 2004, with an additional fifth mural created for the Pedological Institute. A publication with an educational component accompanies the artwork.