Respectable People Respect Their Things

When Veenhuizen was a reform colony its administrators believed that the behaviour of the residents could be modified by teaching them to respect the material possessions that were allocated to them; give a brute a porcelain cup and he will take care not to break it. Today people treat their things with far less respect. Wear, decay and damage; these are all accepted, even appreciated. Malou van Dijck’s modern takes on display cabinets demand a renewed respect from their users. Their appeal grows through the proper treatment with soap and wax. They can be seen as a contemporary take on behavioural reform.