Commissioned by the Province of Groningen, Eileen Blackmore developed an overarching design for the N361 as curator and art director. Because she has lived in Zoutkamp for years, she personally designed the roundabout at Leens. She created two different objects for these roundabouts: a silhouette of a tree and silhouettes of ‘dike houses’.
The tree symbolises the unique characters who dare to stand out above the crowd, such as H.N. Werkman, Ede Staal and the many artists and freethinkers of Het Hogeland. The trees, often seen along roads and on the horizon in the Groningen countryside, are sometimes a little crooked, just outside the plumb line.
This design was inspired by, among other things, the painting “The Wagon in the Forest” by H.N. Werkman, member of the Groningen art circle De Ploeg, who lived in Leens. The tree has been pruned at the roadside, but grows freely towards the fields, as a frame for the landscape. The Trees of Groningen are 12 metres high and made of corten steel.
The steel silhouettes of the dike houses will soon be placed on the dike body on the south side. These houses refer to the typical homes along the sea dike. When you sail from the Zoutkamperril to Zoutkamp, you see the houses just above the dike, with the feeling that your village is behind it. This feeling is also connected to Leens. When you drive along the dike body, you know: behind the dike lies the village of Leens.
Commissioned by: The Province of Groningen
Execution Trees of Groningen: De Mannen van Staal
Execution Dike houses: Ontwikkelplein Het Hogeland
More information about the entire design of the N361:
https://www.houseofdesign.nl/?portfolio=n361-van-wad-tot-stad
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