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Vice Blog

AMSTERDAM - THE GLOWIEST PLACE IN TOWN

Meet Nick Paladino, a Hendrix-obsessed American who drained an Amsterdam basement all by himself in order to create Electric Lady Land, a museum where everything but Nick is fluorescent--although we haven't seen him in the nude. Mieke Lindeman traveled to the museum for further inspection. Here's what she came home with.

So as not to damage the piece of art that this museum was, we had to wear these polyurethane Smurf shoes. Obviously these lit up in the blacklights as well.

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Nick in his Land. He's definitely no hippie and does not like drugs at all, but loves Jimi Hendrix.

Electric Ladyland is all about "participatory art": becoming one with the piece. This entails pressing some buttons a few times, thereby changing the lighting or triggering background music. This important part of the experience is titled "The Magic Land of Lights, Sounds, and Dimensions," as well as "The Sister Mary Bernadeth Grotto."

That was a very cute set of effects, but as Nick had so many things to tell us, each involving at least as many physical movements as words. Here he is telling us how to take a good photo.

Behold, magic dust. Or just UV powder in small containers.

And, drumroll, bottles of UV-gloss paint. This is the secret to this place.

Of course he highlighted those freak animals that were born glowing under black light. Evolution has come so far!

Here's Nick's fingers a few seconds after his having rubbed them on this piece of Fluourite. This was to prove that fluoride is "all natural, as it comes from a rock." Therefore it is not dangerous. Right? Nothing is dangerous in nature.

Nick's office is also covered in fluorescent art. The only black-and-white image present here is an old photo of Nick and his soulmate/muse Michele Delage.

Yay, we're just as important as Jimi Hendrix!

MIEKE LINDEMAN