Johan Cornelissen "Journey along the equator"

'Around May 15th Johan Cornelissen left for Sao Tomè, the starting-point of his journey along the equator. During the last couple of years Cornelissen has carried out several travel-projects which focussed on the relationship between topographical phenomena and reality. During his equatorial trip the artist wants to confront the abstraction (the line) with the reality of the region where mankind draws that imaginary line. Cornelissen's primary intention is not to follow the imaginary line closely, but the realization of various artistic activities within the immediate vicinity of the equator. Through De Appel these works will be communicated. They will be distributed by several media, such as newspapers, radio, print. De Appel will function as the main correspondent and coordinator. De Appel will co-produce the project and will inform its visitors by means of travel documents and work. The Tropen Museum (Mauritskade 63, Amsterdam), with a public having a general interest in the tropics, will exhibit documents and work by Cornelissen in a table show-case. The Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen department Resources Center (Linnaeusstraat 2, Amsterdam), with a specialized public interested in the tropics, will inform its visitors about Cornelissen’s project by means of a memo board. Travel agency AMBER (Da Costastraat 77hs, Amsterdam), a non-profit foundation whose objective is to provide the public with information about the Third World countries and also functions as a booking agent, will organize an audio-visual programme. At the Map Department of the Library of the University of the City of Amsterdam (Singel 425, Amsterdam), which will include the cartographical part of the project, the Atlas of the Equator will be shown. The Radio Netherlands Worldservices, will broadcast a Spanish programme about communication. At De Vleeshal (Grote Markt, Middelburg), following an installation entitled Study for the Equator, a table show-case will be installed with recent communication works which Johan Cornelissen realizes during his equatorial trip.' (De Appel, 2 (1982) 2, p. 17.)