Turning Love Locks into Art

Creation has always been Henki B. his way of engaging with the world. As a child, he crafted objects from whatever he could get his hands on, turning the ordinary into something unexpected. This instinct has carried into his latest project: reclaiming the so-called “love locks” that couples fasten to bridge railings as symbols of devotion and eternal love. Once a while, Henki watched as city workers gathered piles of rusted padlocks, once symbols of love, now stripped from the bridges of Amsterdam, bound for destruction—melted down, erased. 

Rather than discard them, he transforms these remnants of love into sculptures that speak to freedom and reinvention. To Henki, these locks were less about romance but more like heavy chains that disrupt the city's historic soul. Dressed in his signature orange vest, he roams Amsterdam’s bridges, liberating them from their metallic weight and giving the locks a new purpose.

His first major piece, a Large spinning heart, captures both movement and emotion, reflecting the fleeting nature of attachment. Henki has now breathed life also into Tower of Babel and a Saved love of Amsterdam—a tribute to the city's boundless warmth and welcoming spirit. His work, much like his journey, is a testament to the beauty of the unconventional.