Fertile Grounds         
      2022 – onwards


Imagined as a 1-year long open-ended investigation, Fertile Grounds transforms three rooms of the Fries Museum into a dynamic laboratory that engages diverse audiences (local inhabitants, farmers, politicians, naturalists, associations, scholars…) with critical conversations around one main question: “What future do you want for the Frisian peatlands?”

The exhibition presents original works by Christien Meindertsma commissioned specifically for the show by the curators, Laura Drouet and Olivier Lacrouts of studio d-o-t-s. Meindertsma was invited to look at peatlands with new eyes and develop a series of plant-based creative proposals that would embrace ongoing experimentations in the field of paludiculture – an alternative agricultural practice that favours the rewetting of peatlands and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional drainage-based agriculture. Evoking ancient gestures, regional craftsmanship and landscape patterns, the design scenarios conceived by Meindertsma try to bridge concerns for environmental awareness with new business and cultural opportunities linked to the rediscovery of plants – like reed, willow and cattail – available in the Frisian landscape and that grow under wet conditions.

Favouring a participatory approach, Fertile Grounds tries to highlight how creativity can help us question and reframe ongoing environmental issues in a pro-active and inclusive way.


Links: Fries Museum


COMMISSIONED BY: Fries Museum and Studio Dots
CREDITS: Kuperus & Gardenier, Laura Drouet & Olivier Lacrouts, Mathijs Labadie, Roel van Tour, Mevrouw de Molenaar

















COLOPHON

Photography: Mathijs Labadie, Roel van Tour
Text edit: Laura Houseley
Graphic design: Kumi Hiroi
Coding: Henrik van Leeuwen


CONTACT

info@christienmeindertsma.com

There are currently no internships at the studio.