Exhibition ‘The meadow that wanted to become famous’, Heeswijk (nl)
A bit of Brabant that dreams of becoming famous – this is not exactly the kind of theme that normally rouses Jeroen Doorenweerd’s enthusiasm. Even so, it somehow stirred his interest; in 2007, when he was invited to take part in the exhibition ‘The meadow that wanted to become famous’ in the countryside near Heeswijk, he said yes. ‘I thought to myself, if I make something really great here, it’ll become famous all by itself. Just like a place where the Virgin Mary has appeared – everyone flocks to see it.’ On the other hand, the exhibition was – it must be admitted – purely an excuse for creating this work. Doorenweerd explains, ‘I thought it would be a terrific place to work with farm equipment. Those machines are fantastic. They normally just stand there watering the pasture all day long, but just for once, it’s great stuff to mess about with.’ Stereo Rain consists of two sprinkler systems and a small platform with a bench on it, in a triangular formation. But this time, the sprinkler systems that normally stand around all day doing their job were instead producing a work of art. For Doorenweerd, this was an easy project. The platform was built to his specifications by his son Mischa, and the sprinklers were installed by a farmer living next to the site. Very convenient if there were any technical glitches, and the farmer, who had no special interest in art, thought it was great to see someone use sprinklers in an art project. It just seemed like something new and very different. The two sprinklers – one stationary, the other moving back and forth – sprayed water over a canal from either side, almost as if they were in competition. Where the two sprays of water met, a white spectre appeared, like a point of light. The installation also created a beautiful cloud of mist in the air and, when the sun was shining, a rainbow . . . To see it properly from an observation point, a triangular formation was essential. This is why the platform was in the middle, where you could look out over low shrubs and see a piece of the rainbow. It was an essential resting place and, as Doorenweerd puts it, ‘a very definitive kind of position’ from which to view the work. The artist adds that he was pleasantly surprised by another aspect of this project: ‘The consciousness of the weather – you notice whether the sun is shining or not, whether there’s a rainbow or not, whether or not the whole thing came to life. It could be like a fog machine too. When the weather was cold, the spray made it clammy, and when the sun was out, it was very refreshing. And the maize behind it and the colors of the rainbow against the maize – these were very particular things that worked out just beautifully. And the machines themselves, the force and the sound of the spray. It was like a pissing contest. The power in it, the potential, was enormous.’ (Elly Stegeman)