2020

 

Stage design, Draaimolen Festival, Tilburg

In collaboration with Annelieke Rovers

Materials: steel, water, rust

 

AURA is a stage design for Draaimolen Festival. A monolithic steel wall stands in the forest, with a thin layer of water running continuously down its surface. Over time the water rusts the steel, turning the work into a rusty waterfall: water and metal slowly react and leave visible traces.

 

Conceptually, AURA is about time that can be seen happening. Rust works like a very slow fire, an oxidation that marks the surface layer by layer. The water speeds this process up, so the material keeps rewriting itself. What starts as an industrial object gradually takes on the character of a rock face or a geological layer, shaped by erosion and weather.

 

The title refers to the halo of light, mist and reflection that forms around the object. During the day the running water catches the sunlight and the surrounding forest. At night, lighting and haze turn the wet, rusted surface into a glowing field that resonates with the music. The stage is not a fixed backdrop but a living surface that changes during the festival, a place where construction, nature and time meet.