Sumkay
What will the world look like if we give rights to nature?
That is the question I have been thinking about in this project in collabaration with Anneroos Van Veen en Britt Veltman.
This project started with a day in the woods. Together with Peter Akkerman, we took a group of design students from the HKU on a trip to ‘’Het bos dat van zichzelf is’’ which translates to “the forest that belongs to itself”. This is a special forest located on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, where humans have no influence on nature. Much of the land belongs to someone, and we as humans tend to appropriate nature as if it were ours. This forest belongs entirely to itself.
https://bosdatvanzichzelfis.nl/
There are more and more places in the world that are being granted their own rights and are therefore protected from negative human intervention. A good example of a place with its own rights, is the Whanganui River in New Zealand. Researching this led me to learn about indigenous cultures that are much more connected to nature. This made me realise that we, as Western society, can learn a lot from these perspectives.
Documentary
I Am the River, The River is Me
Dowsing rods
Before entering the forest, we asked a dowsing rod if we could walk into the forest. A dowsing rod is an instrument that has been used for centuries to detect water, but you can also ask other kinds of questions with it. We don't know if the answers are correct, but the dowsing rod gives each of us who asks a question a clear answer.
It seemed as if the forest was speaking to us. And this made me feel enormously connected to the place where we were.
For the installation Sumkay,
Together with Anneroos van Veen, I have translated the knowledge of various indigenous tribes and the working of the divining rod. I believe that in order to feel more connected to nature, we need to strengthen our intuition so that we can make better decisions about nature. An instrument such as the divining rod can be a valuable during this process. The forms of different divining rods are translated into the totem, which is also partly inspired by rituals of indigenous cultures.
This work serves as a reminder to occasionally pause, observe, listen, and connect with the natural world.
Elephant grass, Cenchrus purpureus
Sumkay is made from elephant grass, a natural and sustainable material that grows in the Netherlands. Elephant grass is not only sustainable and circulair you can do almost everything with it. Bending, moulding, cutting and natural coloring, we’ve all used it to make the Sumkay totem.
For more information, feel free to visit:
https://sumkay.myportfolio.com/bos-dat-van-zichzelf-is
2024
