Tribute to a vanished ferry
The Meuse has always been a river of connection. At the site of the former pedestrian ferry between Meeswijk and Urmond, a ferry operated until the 1950s. Even then, the river connected both banks. Residents of the Meuse Valley therefore share a common history, traditions and dialect.
At the location of the former ferry, Kruip pays tribute to this history with her sculpture. From the start of the project, a local working group from Maasmechelen was closely involved. They considered it important that the artwork would enhance the experience of the landscape without dominating it. Together with Z33 and RLKM, they reflected on the character of the site, its history, and the ambition to realize a work that would be subtle, poetic and meaningful. Germaine Kruip was unanimously chosen to give shape to that ambition.
Reflection is not only a sculpture, but also a musical instrument. Visitors will be able to strike it with a specially designed mallet, producing a singing tone. The meditative gong recalls the bell of the old ferry that could be heard at this location until the 1950s. That sound expresses a longing for connection: with the opposite bank, with the landscape, and with the present moment.
The sculpture consists of a five-metre vertical brass beam that produces sound. It was precisely tuned by the renowned instrument maker Thein Brass from Bremen. The beam floats between two slender poles ten metres high, positioned 32 metres apart and designed to visually recede into the landscape. Two accompanying benches in black granite invite rest and offer views over the water.
About Germaine Kruip
Kruip lives and works between Brussels, Amsterdam and London. Her work has been shown at, among others, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (NL), the Sydney Biennale (AU), Art Basel (CH), Frieze London (UK), Manchester International Festival (UK), the Puerto Rico Biennale (PR), the São Paulo Museum of Art (BR), the Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art (JP), the Rotterdamse Schouwburg (NL), the Kaaitheater in Brussels (BE), and the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center in Troy, New York (US).
Practical information
The artwork is located between cycling junctions 50 and 56, along the dike by the Meuse. It is 1 km from the car ferry, and both the orange (10 km) and blue (5 km) walking loops of the Leut walking area pass by this location.
Kunst aan de Maas
Kunst aan de Maas is an initiative of Z33, House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture (Hasselt), and Regionaal Landschap Kempen & Maasland. The project receives financial support from Flanders, notably Toerisme Vlaanderen and the Cultural Infrastructure Fund (FoCI), De Vlaamse Waterweg, and five Maasland municipalities (Kinrooi, Maaseik, Dilsen-Stokkem, Maasmechelen and Lanaken).
The trajectory was launched with Tree of Life by Mark Dion, on view since summer 2022 in Herbricht (Lanaken). Last year followed Moeder! Oui dream till the end by Laure Prouvost at the Bastion in Kessenich (Kinrooi) and Echoes of a Landscape by Adrien Tirtiaux at Klauwenhofweg in Maaseik. In 2026, in addition to the work by Germaine Kruip, the unveiling of Future Fossil by Koen Vanmechelen in Dilsen-Stokkem and the work by Jennifer Tee in Maasmechelen will also take place.
