Untangling stories in earth layers
Graduation project, 2021
Many landscapes are haunted by industrial histories that become part of geology, and that we recognize as ‘nature.’ This project studies the area of Zuiderstrand and Westduinpark, in Zuidholland. Slags, by-products of the industry, waste and debris of the war are silent ‘hybrids,’ that have become part of the landscape. By giving a voice to these rejected monsters, multiple stories intersect, about the history of the Netherlands, the construction of the park and the beach.
With the help of a scientist and a volunteer of the park, I created a geological guide, categorizing these specimens, as well as a tour providing another way of looking at the site. I worked on reusing these rejected industrial waste as a pigment for glazing a set of three landmarks, telling different stories about the trajectories of this haunted landscape.
1 Coal ash
Coal ash is the by-product of burning coal. It can be found in the dunes because it has been used has a filler under the paths, that then gradually started eroding as the sand was moving. This pole represents outside what is happening inside. It shows the various layers of the paths that have been stacked onto one another, and that started leaking and spreading in the landscape. It has been glazed with the materials from the ground.
2 Bricks
During the Second World War, bunkers were built along the coast of The Hague by the German occupier, as part of their defense system of the Atlantic Wall. Some bunkers have been blown up, others have gradually fallen into disrepair. Walking in the dunes we still see remnants in the landscape. Pieces of concrete, bricks and rocks are scattered across the sand. This landmark is glazed using bricks as pigments. It is placed on an area where pieces of bricks become part of the geological landscape. Its angled shape represents the corner of a bunker.
3 Steel slag
Steel slag is a by-product of steel making, produced during the separation of the molten steel from impurities. This landmark is located on a dune on which many slags can be found. They look like natural rocks, and remain unnoticed by passers-by. Steel slag found on the dune is used as a pigment to glaze this pole.
4 Experiments with textures
Various materials found on the beach such as sand, shells, pieces of rocks, are used in the glazing to create textures.
Untangling stories in earth layers
Graduation project, 2021,
Many landscapes are haunted by industrial histories that become part of geology, and that we recognize as ‘nature.’ This project studies the area of Zuiderstrand and Westduinpark, in Zuidholland. Slags, by-products of the industry, waste and debris of the war are silent ‘hybrids,’ that have become part of the landscape. By giving a voice to these rejected monsters, multiple stories intersect, about the history of the Netherlands, the construction of the park and the beach.
With the help of a scientist and a volunteer of the park, I created a geological guide, categorizing these specimens, as well as a tour providing another way of looking at the site. I worked on reusing these rejected industrial waste as a pigment for glazing a set of three landmarks, telling different stories about the trajectories of this haunted landscape.
1 Coal ash
Coal ash can be found in the dunes. This pole represents outside what is happening inside the soil. It shows the various layers of the paths that have been stacked onto one another, and that started leaking and spreading in the landscape. It has been glazed with the materials from the ground.
2 Bricks
During the Second World War, bunkers were built along the coast of The Hague. Walking in the dunes we still see remnants in the landscape. Pieces of concrete, bricks and rocks are scattered across the sand. This landmark is glazed using bricks as pigments. It is placed on an area where pieces of bricks become part of the geological landscape.
3 Steel slag
Steel slag is a by-product of steel making. This landmark is located on a dune on which many slags can be found. They look like natural rocks, and remain unnoticed by passers-by. Steel slag found on the dune is used as a pigment to glaze this pole.
4 Experiments with textures
Various materials found on the beach such as sand, shells and pieces of rocks are used in the glazing to create textures.