Much of Holland is underwater. Well, not underwater as much as below sea level. The ingenious Dutch can live like this because of their massive system of dikes that keeps the Atlantic Ocean from rushing in and drowning them all. One such seawall, the Westfriese Ringdike, became an obsession for Dutch artist Pe Okx. Living alongside the dike for 30 years, Okx began to walk the 80-mile-long dike in 2008, shooting a photograph every three feet and eventually amassing 48,000 stills. Okx then combined the stills into a 45-minute film
Westfrisian Ringdike Walk, a flurry of images of the dike in all seasons and times of day, from rainy winter mornings to pink summery sunsets. The magazine
Nordhollands Dagblad described the film as “a monument for a monument. It’s almost hypnotizing how one is pulled at high speed through the Westfrisian landscape.”
Okx, who has shown his work throughout Europe, was one of nine Dutch artists who participated in an Ulster County artists’ residency as part of the Hudson Quadricentennial in 2009. Westfrisian Ringdike Walk will be screened at two ocations this month: On Friday, September 10 at 8pm at the Hudson River Maritime Museum and on Satirday, September 11 at 8pm at the Arts Society of Kingston.
HRMM:(845) 338-0071x15; www.hrmm.org
ASK: (845) 338-0331; www.askforarts.org.