Self Reflection

Abstract

The Delta Interventions theme for this year is landscapes of coexistence, which focuses on transitional spaces, infrastructure and power in the North Sea. Within the context of the North Sea, I depicted the Netherlands as a battleground, with the Dutch in a constant struggle against it . Thus, the project is an interpretation of the long-standing tradition of the Dutch battle against water. As Adriaan Geuze said: “You were born a sinner and had to earn heaven by doing battle with the sea.”2 According to Geuze being born a sinner can also be a gift; as this struggle challenged and strengthened the Netherland’s capacity for technical work, design, imagination and art. This led me to choosing my site, the Wadden Sea, where this battle between the land and the sea is at its most extreme. The Wadden Sea is a transitional border between the northern coast of the Netherlands and the North Sea and its ever-changing borders, moving and even sometimes vanishing islands drove me to study the dynamics behind this malleable habitat.