The Cowan Paradox & Other Inconveniences
During NDSM OPEN, we’ll open our studio to present artist Sjef van Beers’ project The Cowan Paradox & Other Inconveniences, including a new experimental iteration on it.
Within this project Sjef explores the relations between (domestic) labour, (automation) technology and the supermarket through the medium of the self-scanner. The Cowan Paradox, named after historian Ruth Schwartz Cowan, describes how time spent on housework had not decreased between 1870 and 1970, despite innovations in the household, such as the microwave or vacuum cleaner—the Industrial Revolution in the Home, as Cowan puts it. More recent studies have shown that this paradox still holds today. Around the same time as domestic appliances entered our homes, the supermarket started popping up and contributed to turning the home from a place of production into one of consumption. With more and more labour being automated, how do we want to organise our lives? What do we even see as labour? And what role has the supermarket played in shaping our daily lives and living habits?
Throughout the day, Sjef will take small groups of people on an experimental supermarket expedition. We’ll head to a nearby Albert Heijn—on the Ms Van Riemsdijkweg—for a demo for the next stage of this research project. Here, we’ll try out an interactive narrative that runs on custom software on the self-scanners, a point-and-scan adventure, if you will. You’ll be one of the first people to try this, as Sjef is still developing this new chapter. Your experience as a test audience is very valuable.
The Hmm experiments…
This event is part of a series of programs that we are developing with The Hmm, where we give space in our studio for our community to explore new ideas and experiment with workshops as part of our public program.
What you need to know
📅 Date: Saturday 03 October 2026 🕗 Times: 12.30 – 16.00 CEST 📍 Location: The Hmm’s studio, NDSM-plein 125, 1033 WC Amsterdam 🎟 Tickets: this experience is free to joinYou can find information about physical accessibility at The Hmm’s studio here.
💚 This programme is kindly supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL