interactive installation
Often, sculptures remain stationary. Not this one. It moves through the park and charts its own course. In fact, it consists of multiple parts, each taking its unique trajectory. They can converge, follow one another, or each head in a different direction. Thus, the individual objects form an ever-changing composition in the park.
Residents from the surrounding neighborhoods propel the objects. This also means that the artwork is not always visible. Sometimes it is literally ‘out of sight’ (buiten beeld). Once you’ve seen the sculpture in the park, you keep scanning the area on subsequent visits, wondering if it will be ‘in sight’ again. So, even when it’s not visible, it lingers in the minds of park visitors. They know there’s a chance they might encounter it again, creating patterns of anticipation.
The objects resemble beetles, but of disproportionate size. The form is abstract, yet the way they move adds a figurative aspect to the creatures, giving them a distinctive character. Beetles crossing your path have traditionally been seen as bringers of luck and revered as such. On the other hand, these beetles are so large that one might think their DNA has been affected by a nuclear disaster, as encountered in science fiction. On one hand, these beetles belong in the park, and on the other hand, they don’t. They straddle the line between nature and culture.
description: people (ages 10 and up) form a living artwork. Someone can take a seat in one of the four luck-bugs and ride around, determining their own pace and route. Younger children can be pulled along on a cord. A luck-bug consists of a wheeled base and a hinged hood covered with green, sparkling fabric.
exposition: Buiten Beeld
location: Kethelpark, Schiedam (NL)
commissioned by: Foundation Mooi Werk
2011