Living by Numbers

Living by Numbers stands on Amsterdam’s southern bank of the IJ as the Netherlands’ national HIV/AIDS memorial. Jean-Michel Othoniel shaped the artwork as a giant abacus, linking public sculpture with remembrance and counting. Large red glass beads catch the eye above a pink ground and an aluminium bench.

Othoniel created the work after Stichting Namen Project Nederland invited artists to propose a memorial around 2013. He completed the sculpture in about two months and accepted no honourarium for it. Each hand-blown bead is unique, representing the individual experience of people affected by HIV and AIDS. The changing arrangement records people living with HIV in the Netherlands or points towards a future without new AIDS deaths.

The southern IJ waterfront adds another layer, since De Ruijterkade once connected international trade with the spread of disease. Its later history includes street prostitution, a methadone bus stop and LGBTQ+ meeting places. You can sit on the aluminium bench, reflect on people lost to the disease and leave names at the site.