In 2016, I was asked to film something that would never happen again. The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam was preparing for the final reconstruction of two iconic kinetic sculptures: Tinguely Fountain (1960) and CII (1969) by Swiss artist Jean Tinguely. After this last build, the fountains would no longer be reassembled, making this moment a rare opportunity to document the inner workings of two living machines. The original request was clear and technical: create a video that shows every component of the fountains, so future curators and conservators could understand how they functioned. But when director Mark Thur took me to a meeting with the museum’s directional board, something shifted. I couldn’t contain my excitement. These weren’t just machines. They were performances. Whirling, clicking, splashing dances of mechanical poetry. In that meeting, I suggested something bolder: a 360º spiral movement that would showcase the fountains in action, surrounded by a black construct, stripping away distraction and letting the choreography of the parts speak for itself. The museum said yes. The result was a film that became an experience on itself. The Stedelijk loved it so much, that they added the films to their permanent collection. Not as technical footage, but as works of art in their own right, placed alongside the fountains. A testament to what happens when preservation meets imagination. Fun fact: In the end, someone else still made the technical video of all the parts.