Foundation Art and Public Space
artist: Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster
located in: Leidsche Rijn,
In the southeastern corner of the as yet to be developed Leidsche Rijn Park lies the Hoge Woerd, an old orchard that contains the remnants of a Roman fort. Leidsche Rijn’s rich archaeological history all but literally comes to the surface on this particular spot. This is where Beyond placed two parasites (lightweight architectural works). One will be used as a presentation space for the ‘nature and environment communication center’ and the other for presentations on archaeology.
Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster
Sainte Bazeille
Sainte Bazeille
Sainte Bazeille was designed by French artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster (Strassbourg, 1965) in collaboration with Martial Galfione. She once saw the name on a passing truck and thought it would be appropriate for an easily transportable building. The Sainte Bazeille is made up of two intersecting shapes: a horizontal silo shape and a container. To the artist both shapes symbolize the laborer; the silo symbolizes the farmer and the container alludes to industrial worker. In Leidsche Rijn the countryside is slowly disappearing and being replaced with housing developments. In a way Sainte Bazeille sums up that description. Gonzalez-Foerster’s design was carried out by Asnova Architects from Utrecht.
Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster
Architectural symbolism plays an important role in French visual artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s work. For Documenta 11 in Kassel (2002) she created Park, plan d'evasion, a 'world park' featuring various elements including seven tonnes of heavy Mexican lava rock, a phone booth from Rio (Brazil), a rose bush from Le Corbusiers’ garden in Chandigarh (India) and a lantern post from Grenoble. In addition to art installations she makes films. In February 2004 she had a retrospective at the Rotterdam Film Festival, designed the interiors of fashion designer Balenciaga’s shops in New York, London en Paris and she renovated the metro station Bonne Nouvelle in Paris. In her design for Sainte Bazeille she assembles different atmospheres by using a silo shape, a container and a 'catwalk'.
