green wave
Fieldwork, Waddengebied
Marrum, Friesland, Netherlands
September 2024
“Dark Skies”
Study Course by ArtScience Interfaculty a collaboration between the Royal Academy of Arts and the Royal Conservatoire The Hague
How does one get to know a new site? How does one access the unspoken language, the embodied knowledge? How can one be in resonance with the surroundings?
I applied practice-based research methods in which I tried to understand the landscape of the Wadden Sea as a temporal being, a temporal process.
A first hello, attempting to tune in and experience the constantly evolving, constantly becoming life forms. Being with the assemblage of other forms of life and the material world. Getting familiar with uncertain ground. Engaging with the world. The approach is to shift sensory perception, allowing us to focus on one affect, one event, and quiet others: to experience a phenomenon. I tried to view research itself as a form of performative material intervention, where the research outcomes are not about what I have found (extracted) but about what I have done and am doing (infection/excitement). While exploring, engaging, and playing with the Waddengebied in Marrum, Friesland, I had colored pencils, pens, paper, watercolors, water, a calm body, and an open mind with me.
The sun is at my back.
I breathe in and out,
preparing myself for,
the first steps on this
uncertain ground,
facing west.
A soft breeze touches
my left cheek.
Waves of fragrant,
spicy aromas drift past.
Goeie – am I allowed to step on you?
With calm determination,
I open the heavy gate to
unknown territories.
Tentative first steps lead
me to the edge — a line,
a barrier.
A bunny crosses by,
showing how effortlessly
it navigates the path,
the grid, the constraints.
Smooth movements:
tap, tap — tap, tap — jump.
Tap, tap—tap, tap
— jump.
Inspired by the bunny’s grace,
I follow, crossing with ease.
Curious cows greet me,
accompanying me to the next step.
I reach the first bridge.
The reeds sway,
whispering for me to cross.
On the other side,
I find myself walking along a dam,
elevated yet feeling weightless.
Left, right, straight — no other options.
After 250 steps
and passing through another gate,
the landscape opens up,
offering a view of vastness.
A swarm of starlings catches my eye —
a soft yet determined flutter,
full of playful ease and lightness.
Suddenly, the sky breaks open
dramatically.
Shy rays of sunshine peek,
through the heavy grey clouds.
The wind picks up,
quickly pushing the clouds away.
I pause, startled by the first green wave sweeping over me.
A soft, warm green light
caresses my whole body.
Even with my eyes closed,
I can feel it.
Now I understand
why green symbolizes hope.
Open and optimistic.
Is this being in resonance with
the surroundings?
Embraced by shades of green.
I feel protected.
The softness and
smoothness stands out,
softening the strong patterns
and harsh edges.
