Sandworm by Marco Casagrande @ Wenduine, Belgium

''Sandworm'' (2012) is a

site-specific art Site-specific art is artwork created to exist in a certain place. Typically, the artist takes the location into account while planning and creating the artwork. Site-specific art is produced both by commercial artists, and independently, and can ...

installation and a fusion of

environmental art Environmental art is a range of artistic practices encompassing both historical approaches to nature in art and more recent ecological and politically motivated types of works. Environmental art has evolved away from formal concerns, for example ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

by Finnish architect Marco Casagrande situated on the dunes of

Wenduine Wenduine is a seaside resort on the Belgian North Sea coast. It is a village with a population of 4000 inhabitants in the West-Flemish municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and power ...

beach in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The curvaceous structure is made entirely from

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

. The fifty-metre long organic structure stretches out between the dunes like an enormous wooden worm. It is part of the Beaufort Triennial of

Contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...

. The installation is an organic shell built from willow branches woven through arches of various heights placed at a length of 45 meters and a height and width of 10 meters. It falls within a local long tradition of willow weaving normally more modest in scale. Sandworm has been created in an undulating shape upon the tidal beaches of Wenduine town. From a distance, the mounds of tree remnants suggest the form of a massive creature, emerging out of the ground. Up close, visitors can investigate the textured surface of the structure, and they are invited to interact with the sculpture by walking through the interior. The space is used for picnics, relaxation and “post industrial

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

”.
Building on

Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

’s beliefs that it is only the surrounding atmosphere that gives subjects their true value, Casagrande works in harmony with the air and light in this architectural piece. Casagrande describes the work as “weak architecture” – a human-made structure that wishes to become part of nature through flexibility and organic presence. The visitors are describing the Sandworm as a willow

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

finely tuned to celebrate the site specific conditions of the Wenduine tidal beaches. As one visitor, Peter Beyen, puts it: “The artist believes that architectural control goes against nature and thus also against architecture… To the Finnish artist Marco Casagrande designing is not sufficient. Design should not replace reality. The building must grow out of the location, it must react to its environment, it must be a reflection of life and also be itself, as every other living being.” According to Peter Beyen, Casagrande "believes that the built human environment should be a mediator between human nature and nature itself. To be part of this, man must be weak".Sandworm , Marco Casagrande
- ''Matt Davis, ARCH2O 8/2012

References

{{coord missing, Belgium Buildings and structures completed in 2012 Land art Environmental art 2012 works Contemporary works of art Installation art works Sculptures in Belgium De Haan, Belgium