RandstadConurbation

‘Conurbation’ is an installation in situ that was created on the grounds of a former gas factory for the biennale ‘Polderlicht’ in Amsterdam-Oost (The Netherlands). It consists of a transparent ‘Randstad’ (the unique Dutch equivalent of a conurbation) constructed with uprooted trees on stakes which were placed throughout the site. Part of the installation is a transparent building pit that hovers above the ground including displays of whirling water and sand. The projectors envelop the city in an eerie light, which in turn creates a shadow reflection of the steel wire constructions onto the sandy ground. The installation symbolises the cyclic aspect of a city: reclamation of the land, pumping the water away, turning it into sand again, rebuilding. In the eternal process of grinding and the reappearance of matter –as seen in building pits- various layers of civilisation are being put together as if they were  memory layers. An excavation might bring those to the surface temporarily – only to make them disappear again.