Artist Denise Rosenboom is a guest on the latest episode of the podcast The Heart of the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood. She has lived and worked on the Geldersekade for seventeen years, on the edge of the Red Light District, and is known worldwide for her vulva necklace. Host Irma Thomas and sidekick Jim Zielinski spoke to her in the former town hall, now Hotel The Grand, a stone's throw from the Nieuwmarkt.
The vulva necklace: from joke to international artist
The vulva necklace, also known as The Pussy Pendant, by Denise Rosenboom began as a joke. For Africa Burn, a festival in South Africa similar to Burning Man, she, as the creative of the group, had to come up with something to trade. In her kitchen, she realised a necklace would be easy to take along, and that a vulva on it would actually be funny. She made 200, gave them all away, and at the last minute, on her brother's advice, did write her name on them.
What followed surprised her most. After an interview in the NRC, orders started coming in, including for personalised necklaces where women wanted their own vulvas replicated. Denise delved into the subject and discovered how many women are ashamed of their appearance, partly due to the extreme pornographic ideal that has become the norm. Since then, she has deliberately made the necklaces in all shapes, colours and sizes, no two are the same, just like in the real world.
Feminist activism in Amsterdam, with humour
Denise describes her work as feminist activism, but in a cheerful way that can also be laughed at. The necklaces are worn by women, by men as an ode to women, by lesbian couples and by festival-goers. The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam sells them, there is a webshop with international orders, and the Vagina Museum in London is a regular customer.
Recently, Denise expanded her work with the “Human Being” and the “Dick Vis”: necklaces with a penis. Because that couldn't be missing either.
On International Women's Day 2021, she hung chains around statues all over the Netherlands and far beyond: in Mexico, New York, Berlin, and Denmark. In Amsterdam, she climbed a high ladder to reach the statue of Bredero on the Nieuwmarkt as an ode to sex workers. The chain disappeared after a few weeks. Whoever has it is welcome to come forward.
Artist on the Geldersekade: a kitchen window next to the Red Light District
Denise has lived on the Geldersekade in Amsterdam for seventeen years, in a house that was squatted in the eighties. She knew early on that this was where she wanted to be: “I’m not finished here yet.” Her kitchen window, full of vulva necklaces, has become a well-known feature in the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood. Tourists knock on her door, people laugh or react with surprise, some get angry.
They themselves also draw the comparison to the windows in the red-light district: you look at who is standing there and decide for yourself whether to open the door. Celebrating the female body, whether it's art or a service, is what it's all about in both cases.
Living and working in the Nieuwmarkt district
The Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood appreciates them for their freedom and village feel combined. She likes to go to Stevens, Loosje, Captein and Co, and the greengrocer on the Nieuwmarkt. Her message to the neighbourhood: keep buying local, be flexible, and have a sense of humour. “If you don't have a sense of humour, you shouldn't live in this neighbourhood.”
In the summer, Denise moves to the top of North Holland, where she runs a beach bar on the nudist beach of Callantsoog. This year, perhaps a campsite. To gain new inspiration and step away from the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam for a while, before returning to the Geldersekade.
A vulva on the Weigh House: Denise Rosenboom's dream
Asked which artwork she would like to leave behind in the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood, Denise doesn't need to think for long: a large vulva, on top of the Waag. As an ode to women, in the very place where witches stood trial for centuries. The application to the municipality hasn't been submitted yet, but who knows, they might be listening.
Watch and listen to the full conversation above. Or listen here to one of our other podcasts featuring entrepreneurs and residents from the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood.
