Bob Gramsma, Riff PD #18245, photo: Andreas Galmarini

Riff, PD#18245 (2018)

Bob Gramsma

The Zuiderzeewet that made it possible to construct the Flevopolder took effect on 14 June 1918. In 2018, to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of this Act, Bob Gramsma designed the Riff, PD#18245 monument. Like a gigantic, raised chunk of clay it sits on a flat, former agricultural plot in Dronten.

The construction of the work of art is remarkable. On three pile foundations and using a complex construction method that is also used to build bridges and boats, Gramsma erected a hill comprising some 15,000 m3 of agricultural and Zuiderzee soil. Into this hill he dug a large cavity, which he covered with a layer of shotcrete and fitted with a smoothly finished cover panel and a staircase. He then removed the soil to the ground level, leaving behind the concrete cast mixed with Zuiderzee soil residue.

Riff, PD#18245 is thus both a sculptural object and a residual form. The work is an imprint of Gramsma’s digging in the Flevoland soil and reflects the reclamation and the artificiality of the polder. Gramsma’s newly formed landscape offers shelter to animals and mosses. Visitors can walk up the steps for a view from above of the old land near Elburg and the new, artificial landscape with its dikes, roads and ditches.

Bob Gramsma’s Riff, PD#18245 (2018) is located along the Bremerbergweg in Dronten, The Netherlands. Find its address and coordinates here.

In ontwikkeling: Riff, PD#18245
Opening Riff, PD #18245 op 12 oktober 2019, foto: Geert van der Wijk

Construction of Riff, PD #18245

Riff, PD#18245, the eighth landscape artwork in Flevoland, is built up in several stages, each of which is important to both the creation and the meaning of the artwork.

The composition and firmness of the soil on site affect the construction and appearance of the exterior. The excavation process leaves its mark. Wind, water, temperature and other weather conditions play a role as well. All these influences and processes will not come to a sudden standstill as soon as the concrete object has emerged.

In several different stages, visitors will be able to witness the building process of the complex construction consisting of rafters, ribs and braces such as those used in bridge and boat construction, before they are finally hidden from view once the artwork is finished.

In September 2018, under great public interest, the first pile of the artwork was driven into the ground: the first stage. The static construction was presented on 14 November 2018, coinciding with a symposium on the centenary of the Zuiderzee Act. The public opening was on 12 October 2019.

This, then, will function as an open end, since subsequent stages will see the construction of the natural area that surrounds the artwork, the first vegetation in the form of mosses, and possibly the first inhabitants of Riff: a pair of breeding birds or solitary bats.

Op 1 januari 2020 zond Omroep Flevoland de documentaire No Risk No Fun uit. Kijk de film van Elisabeth van Leeuwen hier terug op de website van Omroep Flevoland.

Bob Gramsma, Riff, PD#18245, photo by Franzi Mueller-Schmidt, February 2021

Facts & Figures:

Artist: Bob Gramsma, in collaboration with Walt+Galmarini AG.
Title: Riff, PD #18245.
Year: 2018-2019
Unveiling: 12 October 2019
Size: 37,5 meter long, 13 meter broad en 7 meter high
Materials: Concrete, steel, local soil
Location: On the lot between de Spijkweg en de Bremerbergweg, municipality of Dronten
Commissioned by: Provincie Flevoland
Managed by: municipality of Dronten
Riff, PD #18245 is the eight land art work in the collection Land Art Flevoland

Podcast over Riff, PD#18245

Kunstjournalist Luuk Heezen interviewt curator Nils van Beek, die betrokken was bij de totstandkoming van dit werk. Dit interview is opgenomen in De Verbeelding, Zeewolde tijdens het Land Art Luisterweekend 2020.