‘The Wave’ by Linda Verkaaik, 2016
The National Monument on Marken to commemorate the Centenary of the Zuiderzee Flood of 1916
‘The Wave’ by Linda Verkaaik, 2016
The National Monument on Marken to commemorate the Centenary of the Zuiderzee Flood of 1916
The ‘wave’ is often performed by visitors in a football stadium: one collective, flowing movement that, to me, expresses connectivity and co-operation. All hands and bodies moving transform into one overwhelming gesture, one unifying invincible force.
The movement of waving lies close to that of weaving. Yet weaving embodies everything strategic and productive: to co-operatively weave and produce a dike, a barrier to hold back the water in order to survive.
The Zuiderzee Flood of 1916 conveys many, often contrasting emotions: incredible sadness and pain, loss of loved ones, and yet also victory over water and survival.
The Flood should never be forgotten. The monument not only commemorates the Flood’s disastrous effects, but also the determined reconstruction by the survivors afterwards. This strong mentality of ‘rolling up sleeves’ and ‘dealing with it’ enables life to go on. It is symbolized by the Marken mourning material flowing freely in top to dry in the breeze.
