Uit de klei getrokken

During the Year of the Farm in 2003, artist Iepe Rubingh created the land art installation Uit de klei getrokken (“Pulled from the Clay”) at the Kraggenhoeve in the Noordoostpolder. A white-painted oak, uprooted from the Voorsterbos and suspended above a pit in the clay soil, was dramatically displayed with the help of a crane. The image was both poetic and powerful — a visual metaphor for uprooting and transformation in the Dutch countryside.

The concept was clear: as the original farmhouses disappear from the landscape, the Netherlands loses part of its roots — both literally and figuratively. The tree, sprayed white with latex, amplified the sense of alienation and displacement. It was as if culture itself hovered above the land, connected only by a few remaining roots. The installation left visitors speechless. What remained was a haunting image of an almost uprooted tree, held aloft by a crane — the symbol of the forces reshaping the landscape — with just a few roots still clinging to the polder clay. A more striking image of the fragile balance between preservation and progress is hard to imagine.

Mothership handled the concept, participation process, design, execution, project management, and curation. The project was deeply rooted in its surroundings: together with the forest ranger of Natuurmonumenten, a suitable tree was selected, while local companies assisted with excavation, transport, installation, and painting.