Marlies
NeugebauerGarden Series
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Marlies Neugebauer is a designer and ceramist. She lives and works in Amsterdam North with her husband - still life photographer Marcel Christ, two children and two cats. The family lives in a renovated shipyard with 17 other homes. They have temporarily converted the neighbouring building site and harbour into a communal garden for the residents.
“We have had our temporary garden for the past ten years. We expect the bulldozers to enter the garden every time the season starts. Fortunately they haven't yet!
In the time we have had it nature has really taken over. Seeds from the nearby woodland ‘Het Vliegenbos’ have taken root and we have had the pleasure and shade of birches, oaks, willows and elms. In the middle of the garden stands a beautiful Indian Bean Tree which provides us with shade and coolness during the summer.
After work and during weekends we come here to relax with our families, swim, play, sometimes catch fish, smoke it and/or prepare our food on the bbq. We spend long nights by the fire the whole year round. All of the households consist of creative people - film directors, photographers, a flower stylist, an architect, and designers. Sometimes we meet in the garden for a 'project' such as building a fireplace or a shed for the children to play in. Once a year we organise a big cleaning of the garden. Half the group cleans whilst the other prepares lunch!”
