With ART ON THE MEUSE, Z33 and RLKM are enriching the Maas Valley River Park with contemporary art. Discover the six unique artworks in Dilsen-Stokkem, Kinrooi, Lanaken, Maaseik and Maasmechelen. read more
Laure Prouvost
MOEDER! OUI DREAM TILL THE END
Bastion, Kinrooi
51°08’45.1″N 5°49’34.2″E
In the far north-east of Kinrooi lies a vast gravel lake – created by quarrying, and now a place of tranquillity for people and nature alike. It is in this unexpected spot that Laure Prouvost’s Moeder! Oui dream till the end has found its home. The monumental sculpture is an artistic interpretation of Mother Meuse, the river that has brought fertility and prosperity to this region for centuries. That is why she is affectionately known as Mother Meuse in popular parlance.
Prouvost depicts Mother Meuse as a hybrid figure: half woman, half underwater creature, with a pregnant belly, tentacle-like arms and bronze birds perched on her arms. Like a protective mother, she cradles a mound of Maas gravel, sourced from the very same subsoil from which the lake itself was formed. The gravel alludes to the history of extraction, but here takes on a new meaning as a symbol of care, connection and anchoring within the landscape. With her tentacle, she presses a flag into the mound of gravel, bearing the words ‘Oui dream till the end’. That flag remains visible, even when the pond overflows at high water. In this way, the artwork literally evolves with the dynamics of its surroundings.
The location was not chosen at random. This spot lies close to ‘the end of Belgium’, a symbolic border point where nature, history and landscapes converge. Prouvost, who herself comes from a Franco-Belgian border region, often plays with multilingualism and shifts in meaning in her work. “Oui sounds like ‘we’,” she explains. “The flag expresses the hope that we will continue to dream together – until the end.”
The choice of a half-octopus figure fits within a recurring theme in Laure Prouvost’s body of work. An octopus has multiple hearts and no central brain. Its senses and brain are located in its tentacles. It thinks by feeling and feels by thinking. By combining these characteristics with a human form, Prouvost invites us to look and think differently, and to empathise more fully with other creatures.
BOUNDLESS CRAFTSMANSHIP
Moeder! Oui dream till the end is not only an artistic landmark in the Meuse Valley, but also an example of cross-border craftsmanship. The monumental sculpture – six metres long, three metres high and weighing almost two tonnes – was created through an intensive production process lasting one and a half years, in collaboration with specialist bronze foundries in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Laure Prouvost began the creative process with various ideas, sketches and clay models. In consultation with a local working group of residents with diverse areas of expertise, the proposal for ‘Mother Maas’ was selected and further refined. At Brons Atelier in Zottegem, a 3D scan was made on this basis and a life-size mould was milled from polystyrene, which was then worked out in detail by a team of sculptors. The moulds were transported to Balk in the Netherlands, where the bronze was cast at temperatures of up to 1200 °C. After hardening, the components were returned to Belgium for polishing and assembly.
Installation on site also required technical precision. Due to the scale of the work and its location in open water, a temporary dam was constructed so that the foundation could be built on dry land. This foundation will later disappear beneath the water again, causing the sculpture to rise, as it were, from the lake.
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LAURE PROUVOST
Laure Prouvost (Croix-Lille, 1978) lives and works in Brussels.
She was awarded the Turner Prize in 2013, the Max Mara Prize for Women in 2011, the Principal Prize at the Oberhausen Short Film Festival in 2010 and 2011, as well as the FIPRESCI Critics’ Prize at the 62nd edition of that festival, and the EAST International Award in 2009. In 2016, she was appointed a Knight of the Order of National Merit, and in 2019 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. She represented France at the 58th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale (2019).
She has held solo exhibitions at numerous national and international art institutions, including De Pont, Bonnefanten, M HKA and others. Her artworks are held in various collections.
Using video, drawings, tapestries, ceramics, photography, performance and, above all, language, Laure Prouvost creates compelling installations that immerse the viewer in a state of personal and collective introspection. Words, images, memories, the five senses – everything that seems tangible and reliable – is turned on its head by the fantastical nature of the ambiguous narratives the artist introduces. Her relationship with language, which is mischievous and full of humour, is influenced by her own experience and the gap between everyday spoken language in England and her mother tongue.
PRACTICAL
Moeder! Oui dream till the end is easily accessible via the walking and cycling route network in the Maas Valley River Park. Visitors can park at car park 3 or 4 in the ‘Kessenich en de Drie Eigen’ walking area. From there, the ‘Kunst aan de Maas’ signposts will guide you to the artwork: via the red walking route from car park 3, or the purple route from car park 4 (Visit Kinrooi). Sturdy walking shoes are recommended. You can also head straight to the Bastion.
You can find the artwork here on Google Maps -> 51°08’45.1″N 5°49’34.2″E
If you fancy exploring further, you can continue the walk along the red loop through the Koningssteen-Kollegreend nature reserve – one of the most beautiful landscapes in the Meuse Valley. Along the way, you’ll also pass the symbolic ‘end of Belgium’, to which Prouvost subtly refers in the title of her work.
By bike, you can reach the artwork between junctions 21 and 22. The cycle route networks of Flanders, the Netherlands and Germany link up seamlessly here.
Looking for a multi-day micro-adventure? The RivierPark Maasvallei long-distance walk passes by the artwork. Or discover Moeder! from the water on a silent sloop (via Botel Ophoven) or Treibgut (Sailcenter Limburg). You can find even more local tips at www.visitkinrooi.com.
Accessibility
The car park at the Bastion is tarmacked. The artwork is clearly visible from here. The artwork itself is situated in the water. If you’d like to take a closer look, the paths leading to it are unpaved.
For families with children
The artwork is already clearly visible from the Bastion, but if you follow the dyke path, you can easily get right up close to it. There, on the riverbank, you’ll also find a few large Meuse boulders, featuring fun activities.
WITH THANKS TO
This artwork was created in collaboration with a local residents’ working group (Jörgen Janssenswillen, Anja Neskens, Koen Prikken, Christel Rutten, Luc Vanthoor), the municipality of Kinrooi, De Vlaamse Waterweg, Brons Atelier, Flassh Bronsgieterij Balk (NL), Vandebos Bouwonderneming, Ebema, Dr Robrecht Keersmaekers, Peter Firman, Magma Architecten and Dinanderie Clabots.
With thanks to the studio’s team: Mona Pouillon, Dora Benyó, Elia Castina, Véronique Vaes.