Imprint

A graduate of the Sandberg Institute Studio for Immediate Spaces, artist Elejan van der Velde’s work addresses the topic of memory, which he engages through the use of materials.

Imprint is an unrealised proposal that Van der Velde developed during a residency in Moscow. He researched the history of the Sukharev Tower, one of the best-known landmarks of Moscow, until its destruction by the Soviet authorities under the reign of Joseph Stalin in 1934. This iconic piece of architecture had to make way for Moscow’s third ring road.

Van der Velde proposes a four-centimetre elevation of the asphalt at the building’s original location. The elevation takes the shape of the building’s floor plan. Driving over this intervention cum monument reminds people of what once stood there.