The Ice Fountain Birthe Leemeijer

Dokkum

The shape of the Ice Fountain refers to an ice sculpture that was created organically when, in the winter of 1963, the North Sea froze and thawed once more and a form was left behind by the retreating water. The fountain also recalls the history of Dokkum: the town was once an important port – until the sea disappeared from sight. There is an additional nod to Dokkum as the dramatic, pivotal point in the Eleven Cities ice skating race. How much ice the fountain creates depends on the quantity of green energy generated by solar panels. The more solar energy (generated by sunlight), the more ice is produced. Unfortunately, this innovative technology is powerless to bring back the Eleven Cities skating race, a casualty of climate change.

New cultural heritage
in eleven Dutch cities

Inspiration: the Eleven Cities ice skating race and climate change
Material: metal, cooling pipes, solar panels, trees
Size: 2 m high, 3 m wide
Location: the Market square

For Birthe Leemeijer (The Netherlands, 1972) nature is something to experience physically and sensually. All her work is aimed at seducing us. But not without conditions, as she points out, almost incidentally, that nature and the landscape are undergoing drastic changes. With insurmountable consequences, due to cultural, economic and political interventions and circumstances. Her research often involves scientists and local groups.

www.birtheleemeijer.nl