Maastricht, 2016 - What is the influence of climate change on the Meuse-region? Six stools plus six interviews with people living close to the waterside.
How do changing water levels influence the lives of people living next to rivers and streams?
'Toen stond het water binnen' ('Suddenly the water came in') includes six seating objects in different heights where interviews can be heard with people living in flood-prone areas about their experiences. The interviews (audio) were presented during Maasparadox an exhibition on climate change in the Meuse region in Bureau Europa, Maastricht. Listen to a fragment of one of the interviews here (Dutch only).
I interviewed six persons living close to the Meuse and the Gulp, in Itteren, Maastricht, Slenaken and Epen. Especially the Gulp river can rise quickly due to heavy rainfall. The Meuse water level is much more under control nowadays: large-scale interventions in the river bed scaled down the influence of rising water on neighbouring communities.
Maasparadox is curated by Han Dijk and Ruben Pater and was on show between November 5, 2016 and January 22, 2017. For more info on the exhibition, click here.
Images: Johannes Schwartz.
