At the highest point of the Hoge Mouw park in Kasterlee, this permanent sculpture was installed in a clearing in the forest. Partially emerging from the dune sand is a monumental face. The sculpture appears to be a fragment of a huge body buried under the sand.

Viewed from a distance, the sculpture follows the gentle swell of the sand dune. It seems as if the dune around it was created by flying sand that buried a monumental classical statue. Upon approaching the sculpture, however, it becomes clear that its gentle curves are crafted in raw weathered steel. Moreover, the sculpture has no curved surface: the face is composed of meticulously welded fine triangles. Like a mesh, this effectively seems to reduce the resolution of the image. The sharpness and detail that the face exhibits from a distance, transforms into a more abstract representation as one gets closer.

Some of the triangles are cut out like sizable shards, creating the impression that the image is only partially enduring the passage of time and undergoing deterioration. Through these openings, visitors can step into the sculpture which suddenly becomes both a shell and a shelter. From here, the clearing takes on a fresh experience once more. As such, the sculpture becomes both an observation point from which one can survey its surroundings and a central element that defines the open space.

COMMISSION
Province of Antwerp

DATE
2018 (permanent)

LOCATION
Hoge Mouw, Kasterlee (BE)

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