Friendly Giant Hogweed
or
Momentary Protection of Defense Mechanisms / Momentary Protection against Rain, Sunshine, and Hail
2023
A site-specific sculpture made from locally sourced clay and dead (but still poisonous!!) giant hogweeds during the first field trip of my residency at Het Resort
For this field trip we visited and worked at Into Nature in Drenthe where we had an introduction and workshop by Lennart Lahuis who encouraged us to explore and get inspired by the local environment and the current biënnale exhibition Into Nature: Time Horizons in Drouwen (in the only UNESCO Global Geopark in The Netherlands, wauwsa!)
As a result we presented our in situ pieces on the (not yet frozen) ice rink next to Lennart’s installation 3.151 [Hills that sunk]
As a result we presented our in situ pieces on the (not yet frozen) ice rink next to Lennart’s installation 3.151 [Hills that sunk]
My sculpture was inspired by the giant hogweed, a beautiful invasive giant whose stalk sap is phototoxic, meaning that if it gets on skin and reacts to UV-light it can cause serious burns, blisters and rashes. After almost getting burned myself (oops), I decided to cover up the stalk in a protective layer of locally sourced Drenthe clay, perhaps as a softer defense mechanism.
In its 5 hour lifespan this sculpture endured everything the autumn weather had to offer, including hail straight after birth, and made friends with various visitors and their phones before I (carefully) had to pull its already dead body out of the clay again.
A short-lived star, yes, but isn't it really about the friends we made along the way anyways?
In its 5 hour lifespan this sculpture endured everything the autumn weather had to offer, including hail straight after birth, and made friends with various visitors and their phones before I (carefully) had to pull its already dead body out of the clay again.
A short-lived star, yes, but isn't it really about the friends we made along the way anyways?
