Museum Rotterdam has had a special statue since Saturday. The statue portrays the Rotterdam ‘laughing gas man’, who for years collected laughing gas cartridges from the street from his mobility scooter, and is made entirely of laughing gas cartridges.
‘Laughing gas man’ Eric Alblas passed away exactly two years ago, on May 24, 2023. Armed with a grabber, he collected thousands of laughing gas cartridges over the years. Artist André Pielage has incorporated these into the statue.
The statue is made in the shape of Alblas and, like Alblas himself, sits on a mobility scooter. It was not an easy project, Pielage tells Rijnmond. According to the artist, the laughing gas cartridges together weigh hundreds of kilos.
Alblas and the artist had known each other since 2018. Pielage was at that time working on an artwork that was intended to warn laughing gas users. The ‘laughing gas man’ brought the artist laughing gas cartridges for his project. They have maintained contact with each other since then.
“It is very nice that I can make a tribute in this way,” the artist tells the regional broadcaster. “I had already presented him with the idea for a statue. Fortunately, he liked it.”
Alblas started cleaning up laughing gas cartridges, but later he also picked up other litter from the street. He did this despite being ill. Alblas suffered from a congenital blood clotting disorder. He regularly had to be admitted to the hospital for this. In 2023, he opted for euthanasia.
The statue can be seen in Museum Rotterdam until the end of September.
