Do you remember that time when a duck hatched its eggs in a planter in the interior garden on the first floor of the Laplace building? It was great to be able to witness the birth of a family of ducks from behind your office window. But then tragedy unfolded when mom felt the time had come to take her offspring to the water only to realize that it was impossible to exit the enclosed garden. A colleague eventually managed to put the ducks in a box and brough them, closely followed by a concerned mother duck, to the Dommel.

By now, the ducks in the planter in Laplace have been replaced by a meters-long 3D artwork in the heart of a beautifully refurbished Neuron. And I was allowed to help with the weaving process. Volunteers had to submit a letter of motivation and their CV. Motivation wasn’t the problem. Isn’t it wonderful to see a work of art like that being put together? And to be able to say: I worked on that! But should I mention in my CV that my most recent weaving experience took place when I studied to become a primary school teacher – a program I never completed, incidentally. Or that I used to have my own loom when I was a child?

Happily, I decided to leave out that bit of information, because this was something entirely different. First, we had to climb up the scaffolding for a short explanation and a work meeting. I felt a bit shaky, because it’s been a while since I last swung back and forth from a monkey bar. It soon became clear that instead of weaving, we were primarily there to do the preparatory work. Strips of paper needed to be shredded, after which they were bundled together and used as weaving material.

I was quite good at shredding paper, as it turned out. All those years working in an office don’t count for nothing. After we had climbed up the scaffolding carrying bundles of paper, we actually got to weave some ribbons. It looked great, if I may say so. You should come to Neuron and take a look yourself.