Marine

Homemade houseboats serve as floating art studios for European travels

Homemade houseboats serve as floating art studios for European travels
The 2Boats project will conclude in June 2018, at the Hamburg Triennial of Photography
The 2Boats project will conclude in June 2018, at the Hamburg Triennial of Photography
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The 2Boats project will conclude in June 2018, at the Hamburg Triennial of Photography
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The 2Boats project will conclude in June 2018, at the Hamburg Triennial of Photography
Artists Claudius Schulze and Maciej Markowicz have embarked on a voyage through Europe's waterways on two unique self-built houseboats
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Artists Claudius Schulze and Maciej Markowicz have embarked on a voyage through Europe's waterways on two unique self-built houseboats
The aptly-named 2Boats project sees the artists visiting multiple cities in their novel floating dwellings
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The aptly-named 2Boats project sees the artists visiting multiple cities in their novel floating dwellings
Schulze's houseboat is named Conquest of the Improbable and is largely made from recycled materials
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Schulze's houseboat is named Conquest of the Improbable and is largely made from recycled materials
Markowicz's boat, the Obscurabus, serves as a fully-functioning camera obscura
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Markowicz's boat, the Obscurabus, serves as a fully-functioning camera obscura
"I built the boat while working on my work 'State of Nature' about climate change, natural disasters and the extent that landscape is changed to protect against them," says Schuzle
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"I built the boat while working on my work 'State of Nature' about climate change, natural disasters and the extent that landscape is changed to protect against them," says Schuzle
Construction photo of the Obscurabus
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Construction photo of the Obscurabus
Inside the Obscurabus
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Inside the Obscurabus
The Obscurabus serves as a camera obscura
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The Obscurabus serves as a camera obscura
When Schulze's houseboat comes to shore, visitors are welcome to take part in discussions on the environment
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When Schulze's houseboat comes to shore, visitors are welcome to take part in discussions on the environment
View gallery - 10 images

Artists Claudius Schulze and Maciej Markowicz have embarked on a voyage through Europe's waterways on two self-built motorized houseboats. The aptly-named 2Boats project involves the pair traveling to multiple destinations, including Paris and Amsterdam, while meeting people and documenting their journey.

Schulze's houseboat, named Conquest of the Improbable, is mostly made from recycled materials, including the exterior walls, decking, and windows. It was built with help from friends and features solar panels and a terrace on its roof, which is accessed by ladder.

Propulsion is provided by a Yamaha engine specially designed for slow heavy vessels like houseboats. Its interior features a composting toilet, kitchen area, couch, hammock and bed. The artist gets water by simply filtering the water the houseboat is floating on, though we've no information about the filtration system in use.

When the craft is docked, visitors are welcomed aboard to check out his photography and take part in discussions on topics like the environment, something Schulze is heavily involved in.

When Schulze's houseboat comes to shore, visitors are welcome to take part in discussions on the environment
When Schulze's houseboat comes to shore, visitors are welcome to take part in discussions on the environment

Markowicz's houseboat, the Obscurabus, is more sleek and modern-looking and works as an oversized camera obscura. He built it using marine plywood, with some help from his brother and friend, over the course of three months. It's also powered by the same type of Yamaha engine.

Because of the photographic process he's using, Markowicz spends much of his day in darkness. So when designing his vessel, he made sure he'd have a daylight-filled living space to relax in. It's very well done and one notable addition to the space is a Murphy-style drop-down bed hidden behind one of the photos framed on the wall.

When docked, guests can hop aboard and see the camera obscura in action as well as check out a photographic record of the artist's journey so far. Markowicz has been exploring the idea of moving cameras for several years now, and previously outfitted a 1970's VW bus with a camera and drove around NYC taking photographs.

Inside the Obscurabus
Inside the Obscurabus

The 2Boats project is itself part of the Übermut project, which highlights German creativity. It's still ongoing and will conclude in June at the Hamburg Triennial of Photography, which runs from June to September, 2018.

Sources: Übermut, Maciej Markowicz, Claudius Schulze

View gallery - 10 images
1 comment
1 comment
Tom Lee Mullins
I think that is neat.