18-09-2015 Hard Water by Zeger Reyers

In an ultimate combination of man and nature (or perhaps man versus nature), Zeger Reyers has created an enormous living art installation that climbs down from the exterior second floor level of the Mediamatic Biotoop building in Dijkspark into the Mediamatic Restaurant. Hard Water was constructed using over 1000 ceramic plates, soil and different species of grass, including Gaura and Crocosmia. These grasses are long and thin and produce bright-colored flowers at the tips in the Summer months. Additionally, bulbs have been planted throughout the soil in the installation and so will also make an appearance and flourish as time passes. The half-inside, half-outside; half-organic, half-man-made structure is naturally nourished by rainwater.

The immense piece, designed and specially installed on location in our restaurant greenhouse, explores the tension between nature and man-made objects by confronting the artificial with biological processes. As such, the work is growing and evolving every single day with the artificial manipulating the natural and the natural equally manipulating the artificial. This changing appearance can be witnessed over the next four years, and so several visits are encouraged to grasp the full live art concept of Hard Water.