VERKLEURINGEN (DISCOLOURATIONS)

Art in the ‘Bos op Houwingham’ (north-east of Groningen), commissioned by the county Groningen.

Now, in the place where the former peat-land Houwingham was once submerged by the sea, a nature- and recreational area with a water storage function resides. Recent archaeological investigations have discovered a hallchurch and two so-called ‘stone houses’ under the current fields. Both archaeological digs and modern day magneto measurements reveal traces of the past in the discolouration of the Dutch soil. This phenomenon of discolouration is visible through discolouration on a concrete surface. Traces of oxidation of steel grit map out the shapes of quays and dykes as rusty brown discolourations on the concrete. The locations of the archaeological monuments are marked by elements of baked clay. This clay presents us with a footprint of the hallchurch and the two stone houses in its relief. Seven concrete plateaus (5 x 5 meter) are scattered over seven strategical places in the area and help people orient themselves in the Bos op Houwingham.

Design: August 2008
Completion: 16 October 2013

KEERZIJDE (Reverse)
commissioned by the town Velsen and the county Noord-Holland and in collaboration with the town Beverwijk in spirit of the construction of the Westelijke Randweg (N197) around Beverwijk.

In the 8^th century Scheybeeck was already the border between the estates Adrichem and Beverhem. To this day this dune stream forms the municipal border between Velsen en Beverwijk. In the 17^th century, Vondel wrote the poem ‘Beecksangh’ at the Scheybeeck and Herman Gorter wrote ‘het heele begin van Mei’ (i.e. ‘the entire beginning of May’) in the spring of 1887 at the Beecksangh estate.

The subtle line of the Scheybeeck is now crossed by the thick line of the Westelijke Randweg. ‘KEERZIJDE’ consists of RVS-strips on floorboards parallel to each other and the road, but perpendicular to the direction of the stream of the brook. Halfway, the strips twist, creating the image of a silver wave rippling through the smooth surface. The strips also represent the page of a strophic* poem. On the side of Beverwijk various strips have the words of Beecksangh by Vondel polished onto them. On the side of Velsen, various lines of Gorter’s ‘May’ can be read. By lifting the line of the Scheybeeck of the Westelijke Randweg, ‘KEERZIJDE’ connects the history of this place with the reality of today. In this sense, it marks a turning point on the border between two towns as a reversal (keerzijde) of contemporary times.

Design: 2010
Construction: May 2011 in collaboration with Segno d’Arte
For more information about this design, see the booklet REVERSE (English)

*A strophe (or verse) is a part of a poem between two blank lines, ‘strophe’ from the Greek -‘strophé’ literally means rotation, revolution or ‘re-verse’.