How do you make it tangible that a river contains much more than the line it draws through the landscape? With that question as a starting point, Maud van den Beuken develops a multifaceted project in which river silt functions as material, topic of conversation, thought exercise and representative of the river itself.
At the bottom of the Nieuwe Maas near Rotterdam lies sediment that is continuously carried by the water from the Alps, right through Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. Every day, tens of thousands of kilos of this river silt are removed. In this way, an artificial boundary between water and land is kept in place and the desired depth for shipping is guaranteed. The dredged silt is moved to depots on land, or a sunken pit in the North Sea, and thus reaches far beyond the banks of the river. This silt, which is neither land nor water, sets in motion a stream of questions and thoughts.
Over the past 6 months, Buitenplaats Brienenoord has been the base for the first Sediment Station of 'Where the river is'. Here, Maud investigated dredged sediment from the Maas in relation to the porous line between land and water. By weighing, drying, rewetting and letting the silt drip into filter cloths, land and water were separated. In the presence of the community at the Buitenplaats and external parties in the field of water management with whom Maud entered into dialogue, the silt formed the basis for questions about the relationships between water and land.
On April 19, this Sediment Station will be closed with an event at Buitenplaats Brienenoord. Just as the river has carried the sediment, you are invited to carry the weight of 1000 kilos of dredged sediment across the Island in a collective action, to eventually set it on stream in the Nieuwe Maas. You will be taken along in a story about the river by artist Sander Zweerts de Jong and Maud van den Beuken through a performative narrative. In collaboration with artist Anne Kloosterhuis, Maud designs a supporting structure for the sediment. In the context of this project, a special edition of VRIJDAG will be released, the weekly zine of Buitenplaats Brienenoord, with a text by researcher and writer Maurice Specht. You can register for this event via tickets@tentrotterdam.nl.
From May this Sediment Station will move to a new location, at the Schiehaven in Rotterdam. This place will function as a processing station for the sludge from the port of Rotterdam and at the same time as a meeting place around the river, which will be activated in a series of events, a reading group and the starting point of a March with the sludge through the city.
This outdoor project marks the start of TENT's new, hybrid programme. Parallel to the new permanent location at Coolhaven, we are developing nomadic projects, offering artists the space to experiment freely with the form and location that suits their work, and thus actively connect with the city and the public.