Since 1998, three tall concrete columns have stood on the Ruivenplantsoen in the Oude Noorden district, each with a small bronze sculpture group of human and animal figures. The artwork is entitled Small world in the sky and was created by Cathrin Boer Remy and Margot Nijkamp. They were commissioned by the Rotterdam Development Company (OBR) during the construction of the Ruivenhof residential complex, designed by the architectural firm Lafour en Wijk. While designing the "Ruivenhof" lettering, which is incorporated into the canopy above the main entrance of the residential building, Boer Remy and Nijkamp came up with the idea of developing a larger image for the building and its surroundings. They hoped to give the Ruivenplantsoen and its surrounding area a distinctive character. The park is named after the former craft of "ruiven" (or "ruyven"), which comes from "rude-veen" (rough peat). However, the artists decided to explore a combination of other meanings: the trough as a feeding trough for horses, the trough as the shedding of old feathers or hair in animals, and the courtyard as a place to rest. In their preliminary research, the artists found photographs of the area featuring small houses and horses. Therefore, they wanted to use the missing horse as a starting point for a work of art with a historical reference that fits Oude Noorden (Old North). In this way, they offer a poetic interpretation of how the past and present converge in a city. The text on the pillars reads: Mountains rise see the red fruit tree under layers of dust / If I carried you without dust and skin on orange wings / Great sailors set sail for a distant land and sail back.
