Madelon Hooykaas View of wind (2024)

The robust stainless steel sculpture View of wind leans like a figurehead over the water of the Zevenhuizerplas in Nesselande. Visual artist Madelon Hooykaas designed the work especially for this place. Hooykaas started this project in 2002, when Nesselande was still a polder. From the Middle Ages this was a swampy peat area that has been cultivated by humans over the centuries. Peat extraction and peat extraction created large ponds surrounded by polders, after which the development of the Nesselande Vinex district began in the 1990s. When Hooykaas was commissioned to create a work of art for this place in the context of the percentage scheme, the construction of Nesselande had only just started - hardly anyone lived there yet. With this new work of art View of wind the artist refers to the fact that Nesselande is 5,5 meters below sea level. This makes it one of the lowest places in the Netherlands. The artist wanted the future residents of Nesselande to be aware of this. That is why the blue light ring indicates the Normal Amsterdam Level (NAP). Even though the water goes up and down, the NAP remains the same. As the title suggests, Hooykaas also tries to make the wind visible in this artwork. The foundation is connected to the water and refers to the NAP that is fixed. But unlike that solid base, the weather vane is always in motion. In the evening the weather vane glows thanks to the yellow-green phosphorescent paint.