Deltawerken

Description

The Delta works is a system of defence against disastrous floods such as that in 1953 in the Dutch coastal province of Zeeland. In the view of the scale of the planned dikes, special lifting vessels and pontoons were designed for the project. The Delta works are regarded as one of the seven modern wonders of 20th century engineering art by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

As an expression of pride, the Dutch government commissioned various artists to record the on-going construction of the Delta works in different media from 1959 and 1970. The blueprints were donated in portfolios to museums and important foreign guests.

The triangles in a lithographic print by artist and architect Aat Verhoog refer to the impressive ‘nabla’ girders used to build the Haringvliet lock. This stylized concrete form was derived from the ancient Egyptian harp, the nabla. Verhoog superimposes a geometrical form onto the wild waters and the organic contours of the Zeeland province. The nabla girders appear as gigantic, monumental wedges against the waters.

[exhibition text 2017]

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