The Polderfluisteraar (Polder Whisperer) project emerged from a series of personal reflections on the impact of climate change on the Eemland region. Inspired by Andri Snær Magnason’s Of Time and Water, the project personifies the Eemland polder as a friend in need of warning about the future threats of rising sea levels and environmental changes. By whispering translated passages from the book to the landscape itself, Polderfluisteraar opens a unique dialogue between the natural environment and human intervention.

Polderfluisteraar began during a journey through Eemland, where the landscape’s glacial past and uncertain future intertwined in my mind. The project involved translating key excerpts from Of Time and Water into Dutch and reading them aloud to the landscape, imbuing the polder with a persona and a sense of vulnerability. These readings, carried by the wind and water, symbolized an intimate conversation with the region, as if warning it of the environmental changes to come. By transforming the abstract threat of climate change into a personal, whispered warning, the project humanizes the polder, making it a participant in a vital, urgent dialogue.

The project will be shown as a multimedia installation, incorporating a map of the locations where the warnings were whispered, alongside photos of the landscape and QR codes linking to audio recordings of the whispers themselves. This interactive element allows viewers to engage with the landscape as both a passive observer and an active listener, bridging the gap between the natural world and the human voice. By merging sound, language, and landscape, Polderfluisteraar creates a reflective experience, encouraging contemplation of both the polder’s past and its precarious future in the face of global climate challenges

More about Polderfluisteraar can be found here (in Dutch)