Using art to draw attention to rising sea levels as a result of climate change

Daan Roosegaarde exhibits WATERLICHT at Loevestein Castle

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Our communication officer Stefan Siepman at WATERLICHT
Our communication officer Stefan Siepman at WATERLICHT

Following a world tour, WATERLICHT has returned to the Netherlands, with an exhibition at Loevestein Castle on March 25th and 26th. To support the mission of World Water Day, the new WATERLICHT movie was launched on 22 March. The theme of World Water Day 2022 is 'Groundwater, Making the Invisible Visible', and with this exhibition at Loevestein, artist Daan Roosegaarde gave an excellent example of how art can raise awareness and make the invisible visible. 

What is WATERLICHT?  

WATERLICHT is the dream landscape that visualises the power and poetry of water by artist Daan Roosegaarde. The virtual flood portrays the vulnerability of Loevestein Castle, and draws attention to rising sea levels as a result of climate change. On World Water Day, the movie WATERLICHT (below) was launched.

WATERLICHT: a dream landscape about the power and poetry of water by Roosegaarde [Official Movie 2022] from Studio Roosegaarde on Vimeo.

Water and The Netherlands

The Netherlands is inextricably linked to water. Almost a third of the Netherlands lies below sea level, and the dikes and dunes are a large part of Dutch culture. Yet, living below sea level is sometimes taken for granted. WATERLICHT is a combination of LEDs and lenses that create an ever changing virtual flood influenced by wind and rain. The artwork creates a collective experience to remind us of the importance of water innovation and the impact of climate change. 

“WATERLICHT at Loevestein Castle is an activator to create a better future. Experience the vulnerability and the power of living with water.” - Daan Roosegaarde, artist

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Loevestein castle
Loevestein castle

Loevestein Castle and its inhabitants have been battling with and against water for over seven centuries. Many people know Loevestein Castle by the spectaculair escape of Hugo de Groot in a book chest. Much less known, but of great importance, is the legacy he left behind. At Loevestein Castle he developed new ideas about peace, freedom and justice, which changed the world. From this legacy, Slot Loevestein is a logical place to think about what is needed to live harmoniously with each other and the world, in the future. Part of the exhibition 'Denkend aan water' at Loevestein Castle is that the nearby river Maas should have the right to be clean and can flow freely. This is important for the present and future generations.

Danger and potential of water

Discover more about the danger and the potential of water, and listen to the WATERLICHT podcast at www.waterlichtradio.com featuring stories by Daan Roosegaarde (artist), Kathleen Ferrier (Chairperson of the Netherlands Commission for Unesco), Jessica den Outer (specialist in the field of the rights of nature), Susan Lammers (Managing Director of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands) and Henk Ovink (Special Envoy for International Water Affairs). Henk Ovink states

“More than 2 billion people have no access to clean water, we need to appreciate it more. With WATERLICHT we celebrate water at Loevestein Castle, and show its beauty.” Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs

About Studio Roosegaarde

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Daan Roosegaarde
Daan Roosegaarde

As a social design lab, Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde and his team connect people and technology in installations that improve daily life in urban environments, spark the imagination and fight the climate crisis. Clean air, clean water, clean energy, and clean space are their new values, and light is their language.

 

Find out more: https://www.studioroosegaarde.net/info