The power of the sea
Hoby moerland | audio visual installation | 2023
An art installation as a memorial for the victims of the flood disaster of 1953.
1st of February 1953
70 years later I memorialize the flood disaster
The work consists of a moving image filmed during rising water in memory of the victims of the 1953 flood disaster. The hand sculpture is placed on the bottom of the drowned village of Nieuwelande, Zeeland. It depicts the hand of Dick Sies, a victim who survived the disaster of '53, but in which almost his entire family died. The hands floating represent the number of people who are still missing. Within 6 minutes the hand is underwater, showing the power of the sea. This work commemorates a disaster, the victims and stories that we must never forget.
The disaster claimed the lives of 1,836 people, including 105 who are still missing. Besides the moving image of the hand, Dick Sies, survivor of the disaster tells his story in the form of an interview. The ticking sound in the background is a clock in his living room, which afterwards emphasizes even more that this work also functions as a danger sign for today's sea level rise.
moving image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki4PMFymkgI&t=3s ~ interview: https://youtu.be/n5rdffQQJf0
Visual research capturing a few of the other 116 drowned towns in Zeeland. Shot on 35 mm, submerged with collected sea water from the cities.