7.7 billion snowflakes in the Rijksmuseum

A swirling snowstorm

In the Atrium a huge round cloth has been installed just under the ceiling. Stand under it and you get the feeling of being in a swirling snowstorm. It’s as if you can look through to the sky. But there’s more to this project: ‘By looking up to the light, to the snow, to the cosmos, we feel small and insignificant,’ says project conceiver and designer Christian Borstlap of studio Part of a Bigger Plan. ‘The boundlessness of the space reminds us of who we are and what we want for ourselves and our future.’ In the space of a month, 7.7 billion snowflakes will fall: that’s one little light for every inhabitant of our planet.

Christian Borstlap is the founder of Studio Part of a Bigger Plan, and previously made video installations for the Louvre in Paris, NY MET museum and Fondation Beyeler. The studio designed various exhibitions and video installations for the Rijksmuseum. Part of a Bigger Plan also works for international clients such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, Herman Miller and Christian Dior.

The light project “Wish you were here” is donated by Borstlap to the Rijksmuseum

Wish you were here is on view in the Atrium of the Rijksmuseum until 6 January 2020. Opening hours: daily 9 am to 6 pm visitors can step into the snowfall. Free entrance. From 6pm up until midnight the work can be seen from the Passage