Op visite bij Buckhorst

Havezate Buckhorst

'Op visite bij Buckhorst' was a landscape installation that was part of the IJsselbiënnale 2023.

Once on the current 'Landgoed Buckhorst' in Zalk there was an actual manor called Buckhorst. In 1841, the building was demolished, but not all traces have been erased. The remnants of the moat are still clearly visible from the Zalkerdijk. This keeps the building alive in the imagination of many to this day.

With my installation, I wanted to briefly suggest that the havezate was back.

At the exact location where the building once stood, I drew the floor plan at full scale. By carving a meter-wide line into the clay with a mechanical tool, a spatial representation of how it must have been was created.

During my research into the old castle, I became fascinated by many other castles that once stood prominently in the Dutch landscape but ultimately met the same fate as Buckhorst.

I selected eight of them and gave each of them a spot scattered across the estate.

For each castle, I created a series of sculptures, all resembling a piece of clothing, a sort of vest, placed on sturdy poles in the ground.

This gives the impression of members of a dangerous motorcycle club standing in straight rows in the landscape. But also, the activists in yellow vests are back, sea rescuers have now united on land, and Gelderland nationalists have taken a place on the estate.

Regenerative Agriculture

The current owners are allowing the estate to be grazed regeneratively by a herd of Maasduinen sheep. The sheep are at fixed times guided by the farmer to a fresh piece of pasture.

As a result, the animals mark the landscape, 'painting' in the grass a gradual transition from the light green, recently grazed grass to the dark green, untouched grass.

The plots are divided into 22 sections, each approximately 1500 m². The sheep can stay in each section for 3 days, which is the maximum duration to prevent overgrazing.

If they stay longer, the grass will start to regrow, and the sheep won't be able to resist taking a bite of this delicious fresh grass. This grazing rotation helps maintain the health of the pasture and ensures sustainable land management practices.

Herbs

In the carved lines of the floor plans, I sowed a mixture of 20 herbs. This improved biodiversity and also served as a tasty snack for the sheep.

The growth of the herbs caused the walls of the castles to rise from the clay during the summer.

When the sheep arrive at a historically significant pasture, containing walls of 'fennel', 'wilde marjolein' en 'koninginnenkruid', it's a celebration.

The regenerative, cyclical collaboration between humans and the landscape thus creates an artwork that continues to transform itself.

Hellenburg, 2023, blow-dried PVC fabric, wood, straw, 80 x 60 x 25cm

Werkeren, 2023, blow-dried PVC fabric, wood, straw, 80 x 60 x 25cm

Buckhorst, 2023, blow-dried PVC fabric, wood, straw, 80 x 60 x 25cm

Honingen, 2023, blow-dried PVC fabric, wood, straw, 80 x 60 x 25cm

Hedel, 2023, blow-dried PVC fabric, wood, straw, 80 x 60 x 25cm

Stein, 2023, blow-dried PVC fabric, wood, straw, 80 x 60 x 25cm