The Intertidal Object

An exploration of the intersection between water and land observed at the site of the new land of the Maasvlakte beach. The Intertidal Object examines the beach as a place of impermanence, becoming a productive space to question the perceived stability of the world’s landscapes. 

The research contextualizes a proposal for a mediative object constructed out of differently erodible materials, positioned in the intertidal zone. Enabling alternate forms of engagement between human and non-human and making visible the movement of water. The object puts the fluidity of the ocean into the foreground. Impermanence and instability are what defines the object. It is to be shaped, eroded, built, and unbuilt by the movement of the water, the tides, the currents. The natural forces engaged in the formation of the beach are perceived as building machines.