Deltawerk //
Land Art Flevoland, Waterloopbos - national monument
In the former hydraulic laboratory, Deltawerk // questions the ambition of a Netherlands that is indestructible to natural forces in an era of climate change and sea-level rise. This site-specific artwork is also an experiment in active ruin-formation that makes room for non-human life forms and transforms over time.
In addition to the different slopes of the slabs, the concrete skin of the artwork has been deliberately sandblasted to create a range of conditions for other forms of life. Over time, Deltawerk // will be transformed as mosses, lichens, ferns, insects, fish and other species colonise it.
Teams of specialised craftspeople are actively involved in the making of our artworks. For Deltawerk // these include Chris Veldhuizen and Ruud de Graaf (Dikkerboom Concrete Cutting), Marcel Hompert (Hompert-Renes Sandblasting) and lichenologist Albert Aptroot.
Hardcore Heritage
In a radical way this intervention sheds new light on the practice of preserving cultural heritage.
- Read more about this in: "Frontiers of Psychology"
Other links:
- Indestructible Holland, A tribute to a culture of delta experiments (PDF)
- Poetry of Absence, Minimal Colelctive
Data
Commissioned by: Natuurmonumenten & the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands
Artwork: RAAAF | Atelier de Lyon
Team: Ronald & Erik Rietveld, Erick de Lyon, David Habets
RAAAF support: Joop Schroen, Cecile Diama-Samb, Arna Mackic, Daria Khozhai, Mariana Fernandez, Johnny Long
Craftsmanship: Dikkerboom Betonboringen and Hompert-Rennes
Ecological advice: Albert Aptroot
Structural engineer: Nico Plukkel
Photography: Jan Kempenaers (colour), Jeroen Bosch (black-and-white)
Winter recordings: Skymotion
Location: Waterloopbos, Oorsterweg 36, 8316 PT Marknesse, Noordoostpolder
Status: Realized, 2018
Supported by: NWO VIDI >>> & ERC (nr. 679190) >>>
Quotes from reviews
De Standaard - Belgium
"Is art meant to last forever? The colossal Delta Works // in the Dutch Waterloopbos impressively demonstrate that this is not the case. And what about the eternal value of human beings?"
Metropolis Magazine NYC
"Hardcore Heritage": RAAAF Reveals Its Latest Experiment in Historical Preservation
BK - 100 Keyworks - Visual Art in public space - The Netherlands since 1945
Deltawerk // listed as one of 100 key artworks
An experiential approach to Land art in Flevoland [pdf] (by Anja Novak, historian of modern and contemporary art)
"With Deltawerk // and the demolition of the Delta flume that it involved, they invite visitors to rethink their trust in existing technology, face its fallibility and open up to radically different possibilities for the future."
Destination Art - Amy Dempsey
A ‘new’ industrial ruin has been turned into a powerful artwork whichis thought-provoking, intense and beautiful. The water entwines and reflects the interactions of the viewer, the sculpture and the landscape.
Britta Peters, offical ambassador of Deltawerk // - Land Art Flevoland (curator Skulptur Projekte Münster)
"My first impression was that Deltawerk // was a colossal wall, and I found it hugely ... monumental. As we walked closer to this wall, we suddenly saw that there was an entrance to the space..."
L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui
"RAAAF and Atelier de Lyon make the best of the Delta Works’ monumentality by indeed embracing their Star Wars aesthetics.... Deltawerk //, project underlining a vision on heritage far from any museification logic"
The Arhitectural Review
"Dutch Delta Works: from engineering feat to cultural statement.Dealing with obsolete and vacant architecture represents a global challenge for the profession, and demands a site-specific approach of carefully designed interventions. Deltawerk 1:1 is a monumental tribute to the majestic architecture of indestructible Holland."
NRC Handelsblad
Deltawerk // - Best visual art of 2018 internationally
Archined
"Eco-political trenches of Dutch land art
[...] Deltawerk // embodies an important shift: it acknowledges human impact while inviting nature to heal and take over, transforming what was once a symbol of control into one of symbiosis, as Stuit points out."
Dezeen
"Monument by RAAAF and Atelier de Lyon will commemorate "Dutch struggle against water"Press reviews Deltawerk 1:1 - new national monument
Archdaily
"RAAAF and Atelier de Lyon Reveal a Monumental Tribute to the Dutch Delta Works in Waterloopbos"
Designboom
"RAAAF + Atelier de Lyon to realize enormous monument dedicated to the delta works"
Volkskrant
"Waterloopbos wordt bruut Rijksmomument"
TROUW
"Natuurmonumenten heeft grote plannen met de Deltahal. De betonnen sleuf wordt onderdeel van het Deltamonument.
—NRC Handelsblad
"Als je hier over duizend jaar terugkeert, dan staat Deltawerk // er waarschijnlijk nog, als baken van onverwoestbaarheid."
Land Art Flevoland
