top of page
Marit Westerhuis– foto Maarten Nauw_edit

Oever,

(2023)

Nylon, stainless steel, lead, motor, reed, arduino

In the group exhibition Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad, animals are the artists: a pig, a donkey, two lobsters, a group of worms and a wild duck. In preparation for the exhibition, the five animals entered into a dialogue with animal whisperer Alwyn Wils; these conversations form the basis for their artworks. Humans are the artist-assistants to bring their concepts to life.

I was the human assistant of a duck who lives on the banks of the NDSM shipyard (Amsterdam). Following the conversation between the animal whisperer and the duck, I produced the work Oever.

The kinetic sculpture Oever visualizes a planet of perpetual waves of riverbanks, a world that the wild duck imagines as his paradise. The plants of the riverbank reflected, moving softly upside down on the endless waves of water. The perpetual wave is created by moving air from one rocky shore to another. In its constant movement the duck is forever led back to the water's edge he has called home all his life.

Photo's: Maarten Nauw

Video: (still shots) Marit Westerhuis, (moving detail shots) Gosse Bouma

bottom of page