Precarious ground

The construction of Flevoland is the largest land reclamation project in the Netherlands to date. Its completion around 1970 coincided with the emergence of a new postmodern art form, Land art. In Flevoland, the abundance of empty space and the desire to promote and give meaning to the new land gave rise to a remarkable collection of site-specific Land art pieces, created by internationally renowned artists on behalf of local governments. This essay unravels the stories these Land art pieces tell about the polders in which they are located. The artworks refer to the history of the man-made landscape and draw our attention to its qualities. But they also express the ambivalent feelings that polder landscapes evoke. In addition to an optimistic pioneering spirit and admiration for the skills of the Dutch hydraulic engineers, the works are also about human conceit and the sheer power of nature. They remind us that we are on precarious ground.