Another startling work which challenges people’s perceptions of the land and its uses is artist Nienke Brokke’s ‘Dijk van een Wijf’, a huge sculpture of a reclining female nude, formed from the earth and green grasses of the dike near the Frisian village of Holwerd. This organic monument – around 20 metres high at the hips and shoulders – forms a barrier between the land and the sea, sheltering the nursing grounds of seed, soil and people from the sea.
The dyke is a body which we trust and support, behind which we can hide from the dangers of the sea. The dyke as patron of North Friesland, sheltering the nursing grounds of the seed potato and soil for numerous other vegetables. Together with the sea barrier, she provides security, safety, as unconditional as a “Dijk van een Wijf” should!
This ‘land art’ project created by Nienke Brokke on the dike at Holwerd will serve as a warm welcome for all travellers from Ameland.
The visual work of Nienke Brokke always has a context with a narrative element. Her theatre design studies at the Rietveld Academy have contributed to this. As theatre is always a ‘gesamtkunstwerk’, Nienke likes to involve multiple art disciplines which together form a whole. Thanks to this narrative side, Nienke Brokke also designs education projects, in addition to IM and theatre décors. She is skilled in connecting the content with an art discipline.
The land art proposal ‘Dijk van een Wijf’ was her graduation project at the Rietveld Academy in 1997, and we are working hard on making it reality in 2018.
For more information: NienkeBrokke
