By Violet Domínguez
Satire
Collage by Thea Bladt Hansen
— Freshly moved out of home, ready to finally take full responsibility for yourself and your space, and just when it feels like you get to be in charge, life is always ready to humble you. This is the lesson that Dutch artist Gal Aery aims to teach students through the unique use of a thermostat.
Just in time for winter, The Herring has found that the rhombus-shaped device stuck to each dorm wall, believed by many to be a thermostat, is actually part of an artistic installation, led by artist and curator Gal Aery.
Aery, who has been working in collaboration with DUWO at the AUC student dorms since 2016, is known for his previous works: Releasing Rats at School Canteen (2012) and Dysfunctional Washing Machines at Nursing Home (2014-2020). He is now actively working in Broken Thermostats at the Student Dorms (2016-). All of his installation artworks lead towards the same moral lesson “accepting the instability of life, and learning to surrender to a lack of control in acceptance with life’s grandeur,” Aery says.
So no, the thermostat does not change the temperature, but instead it gives you the just-as-valuable property of reminding us to be mindful, and work through feelings of helplessness.
The thermostats, which show the current temperature in one’s room, also include buttons that can lower or raise the number of degrees. This feature was simply added for “artistic purposes,” says Aery. “We wanted to create a powerful, interactive installation enmeshed with students’ everyday life,” Aery explains, continuing: “You see, life is but a gallery of broken thermostats, and we are the unwitting participants in this avant-garde performance piece.” He is especially proud of the buttons: “they tempt you to believe you have agency in the grand symphony of existence. But, alas, they are ornamental reminders of the futility of control.”
The charade has gone so far that DUWO’s technicians have been seen coming in and out of the buildings in order to check students’ thermostats when, in reality, there is no heating at all. Stewie Skold, a second-year student, recalls his experience with the engineers. “I called DUWO because I couldn’t stand the cold anymore. A technician came, but the room was just as cold after he was gone,” Skold says. “I had to sleep in 3 hoodies.” Skold believes that the mechanic just twisted some screws and then left. Other oblivious students have been complaining for years, too.
Collage by Vera Bejczy
Nevertheless, this no-heating initiative is backed by winter clothes businesses such as De Vries Winterkleding, located in Molukkenstraat. Yvette de Vries, the store owner, tells The Herring that the shop used to be open year-round selling all kinds of clothes, but that as of 2016 they have been able to sustain themselves solely on Amsterdam autumns and winters. “We even made special clothes to sleep in, like scarves and fluffy socks. We love the AUC supporters,” de Vries boasts.
AUC’s very own Climate Hub commented on the issue around the lack of heating as well. Loek Arbon, the chair of the committee, says that although students might be cold, they should focus on the positive aspects for the environment. “We’re very green,” he says, “and that’s really commendable.” “Also, excellent and diverse,” chimes in the co-chair Zer O’Waist.
Still, the lack of heat is not the only problem surrounding the thermostats, as they interrupt students’ sleep for other reasons. “One night I was woken up by my thermostat beeping. It just wouldn’t stop.” Petra Pineda, third-year student explains that she had to call DUWO for an emergency at 3AM. “It was driving me crazy.” When Pineda called the technician, who only picked up at five in the morning, she was allegedly told to “just breathe” and that she will “be annoyed many times, and one has to learn to emotionally detach from those situations.” As the technician kept reciting anger management self-help quotes, Pineda hung up. “I beat my thermostat off the wall,” she says.
The Herring asked that same engineer, Noah Heet, for a comment around this incident. “There is nothing we can do at 3AM,” he says. At times like these, Heet believes students should fend for themselves. When Aery made the proposal for the installation in 2016 and DUWO agreed, the technicians thought that this stage in students’ lives was crucial for important life lessons. “At this age, students deserve to be taught about surrender,” he adds. “I don’t think it’s responsible for kids to go out into the real world, and not understand that they have to be in acceptance with not being in control at all times.”
The duration of Aery’s collaboration with DUWO is still to be determined.
The Herring 