Obscura Reverse Sculpture by Ronald van der Meijs

Sculpture: Wood, Resin, Metal on .

An architectural construction gives insight into the structures, formation and transformation of peat landscapes in the Netherlands.

On a busy main road in the Drenthe province in the Netherlands, is an architectural object marked by the transition from the area of production landscape (agricultural and peat) to consumption landscape (tourism and recreation). Entitled 'Obscura Reverse', the work by artist / designer Ronald van der Meijs refers to camera obscura, a early projective chamber and precursor to the photographic camera: the work, instead alludes to the history, structures and transformation of the moorlands and peat pervades the area. Peat and its extraction have determined the landscape of the province of drench on a large scale and made it habitable. An oak structure frame underlies a glazed skin and brass form based on the veins of a leaf and meandering lines of a map. the fine grains of village cartography collapse with the transformation of the decayed plant remains within peat in the landscape. The sculpture's glass container faces a nearby highway and allows the work to further incorporate the presence of contemporary infrastructure.
The oak beams also draw from the traditional agricultural roof structures so prevalent in the production landscape, in particular when clad with epoxy-lined peat discs. The peat tiles are all spaced slightly apart so the light can shine through them. On the inside of the roof whimsical lines of light show abstractions of the drainage systems and subdivision of the moorland which resulted in peat production. Both the oak construction as the peat discs transformed by the weather conditions--after rain storm, the peat and oak are dark, rich hues, while dried again with years of sun, these materials lighten in color and become moss-covered testaments to changing landscape and the micro-worlds within them.

Obscura Reverse is nominated for the International Prix de Triennial Lanchelevici 2013.
For integration of monumental sculptural art in urbanism.
Musée en Plein Air du Sart-Tilman, Université de Liege, Belgium.

Materials: Oak wood beams, concrete, peat, epoxy resin, brass, glass, metal and lexan sheet
Measures: height 4,2 m, length 12 m, wide 3,5 m
Completion: december 2012
Location: parking area Vogelpoel at the N34 highway near Coevorden, Netherlands
Client: Drenthe Province (Netherlands), CBK Drenthe, Taak (former SKOR)
Curators: Nils van Beek, Monica Boekholt
Design and production: Ronald van der Meijs