During the period when Van Gogh lived in Etten and first emerged as an artist, he captured the surrounding landscape in a series of drawings, with pollarded willows and their distinctive bark textures playing a prominent role. He would later develop these irregular, striped bark patterns into his iconic painting style.
Inspired by the drawings Van Gogh created in Etten, I created a row of five monumental sculptures of pollarded willows made from stainless steel, black steel, and Corten steel. The characteristic bark texture of the willows, as depicted in Van Gogh’s drawings and paintings, is translated into an openwork pattern in the metal. During the day, light and shadow interact with the bark structure, while at night, integrated LED lighting creates a color palette reminiscent of Van Gogh’s later works. The intensity of the light adapts throughout the evening to the ambient light and the time of night.
c Night photo’s by René Mensen @duinweg9