Sumkay
For the installation Sumkay, I researched indigenous tribes and their ways of living in harmony with nature. Through this process, I realized how much we, in a more Western society, can learn from these perspectives.
I believe we should strengthen our intuition and make decisions with greater care and awareness especially because many of our choices have long-term effects on nature, and ultimately, on ourselves as human beings.
To express this idea, I created an object called Sumkay, which serves as a reminder to live and work more in tune with nature. Inspired by totems and traditional dowsing rods, Sumkay symbolizes the deep connection indigenous cultures have with the natural world. It can be both a symbolic and practical tool something that invites us to pause, listen, and reconnect with nature in our own lives.
I believe that dowsing rods are a tool to communicate with nature. Because in order to understand her better and to truly listen to what she wants when she stands on her own I first need to understand her.
I see the dowsing rods as a way to connect with nature and to train my intuition. And by strengthening this intuition, I learn to pause and reflect more deeply before making decisions.
Eventually, this practice may lead me to a place where I no longer need the physical dowsing rods at all.
“As soon as we experience that we as humans are much more than just our brain, then we will have a golden key in our hands to learn to navigate in these times of great social change”
Sumkay is made from elephant grass, a highly sustainable crop that grows in the Netherlands. It captures four times more CO2 than trees, making it an environmentally friendly material. The grass requires no irrigation, fertilizers, or pesticides to grow.
For coloring, I used natural food dyes and madder to create the pink-red hue, which gives the piece an appearance resembling iron, lending it a strong and powerful presence.
"Sumkay was created as part of a project for hetbosdatvanzichzelfis, a forest in Doorn, Utrecht, that holds its own rights. In this forest, humans do not interfere. The project explores the significance of giving nature a voice and aims to find a balance where nature is considered equally important alongside humanity, rather than as a separate side."
For more information about the project feel free to visit the site https://sumkay.myportfolio.com/bos-dat-van-zichzelf-is
This project was in collaboration with Noa Schout