Kim van der Sman

A good day to catch wind

The wind is an everyday experience in The Netherlands. We wrestle against it on our bicycles and complain about the gray rainy clouds it brings from the sea. Still the wind has become increasingly distant from us, while large parts of our pre-industrial life was based on the wind. For farmers, sailors and millers the wind set the rhythm of life and work, creating a deep connection to the Dutch landscape. 

A good day to me is a day where I can be outside the whole time. Where I can notice the subtle changes of the weather. How the wind rises early in the afternoon and lies down at the end of the day or the drastic changes it can have. On these days I like to wonder how I could make something that catches wind through a mechanism. 

Met de wind explores the windmill as both a symbolic and a practical way of living closer to the rhythms of the Dutch landscape. In our daily lives we have never been so distant to the way the weather behaves. While our ancestors were very dependent on “weer en wind” (weather and wind), they have shown that being with the wind can be successful for a way of living that is sustainable and inherently connected to nature. Met de wind is a collection of windmills serving as an educative tool for understanding wind and the possibility to dance to the rhythm of the wind. The windmills are a conversation starter for the relationship we have to the wind today.