De Steriele Tuin
On the rooftop terrace of museum van Bommel van Dam, visual artist Stefan Cools and landscape designer Sandra van den Beuken created The Sterile Garden.
Ageing
The countryside is ageing rapidly. Young people are moving away in search of jobs, housing and people their own age. This leads to local facilities such as schools and shops closing, which makes rural areas even less attractive. In a way, this is understandable: you do not stay in a place that has little to offer you.
Interestingly, a similar trend can be seen in nature. With large fields of monoculture, the countryside now offers little to many animal species. In search of food, shelter and possible mates, insects and birds are moving towards cities. Cities are therefore not only networks of human activity, but also important natural hubs, with their mix of gardens, parks and forgotten corners full of wild plants.
The Sterile Garden
The Sterile Garden on the rooftop terrace raises questions about the way we manipulate plants purely for our own visual enjoyment. Is a garden only there for our pleasure, and does that place us above nature? The two parts of the garden work like two sides of the same coin: on one side, you see the manipulated sterile plants as many people like them, while on the other side, the original varieties of these plant species are growing, just as most insects prefer them.
Take a closer look and explore the differences between the two parts for yourself. On which side can you hear the most insects buzzing? Where do you see signs of plants or flowers being eaten? On which side do the flowers have the strongest scent? And ask yourself: who feels welcome in your garden?
Cassette and artist’s book
The Sterile Garden also includes a cassette and an artist’s book, both of which are part of the collection of museum van Bommel van Dam. The research and background information for the installation are included in these works. The artist’s book contains, among other things, essays from different perspectives centred around the question: ‘What is a garden?’
The Sterile Garden is made possible with the support of:
