'White elements for Rotterdam' is a site specific art installation.
2 trees / plaster of Paris
Size work: 35cm x 120cm x 100cm. Element 05 is at (+/-) a high of 220cm. Element 04 (+/-) 135cm.
The tw0 trees are standing in a fenced inn area, which is part of a larger inner parking space in the city of Rotterdam. In big cities there often is the tension between buildings, living space and parks with trees. Often trees are cut down because space is needed (mostly for new offices of houses). In Rotterdam old trees are quite the exception because of the big bombings happened in the second world war (1940 and 1945). So seeing these old trees captured in a corner in a fence, let them had a special connection together which I reinforced with this White Element configuration, as they point toward each other, almost forming a bridge, but the middle part obviously is missing.
‘After’ means that the “normal” situation is ‘before’, before anything changed. After time means the white elements had a lot of things “thrown” at them, sun, wind, moving and growing trees, rains and people touching. So the White elements show their weakness, the trees survive this heavy ordeal (in which I know that plaster is not harming them).