In May, Beelden aan Zee presents the expansive ceramic installation Bottle River by UK artist Stephen Wilks (1964). In 2016 Wilks and his wife Andrea Wilks embarked on this immense project. This powerful yet poetic work reflects the delicate balance between nature, humanity and our environment and is made up of more than 1500 glazed ceramic vessels.

The bottles, each unique and individually shaped, are suggestive of the human form, and appear as if part of an exodus or migration. On the other hand, they also resemble the empty plastic bottles that wash up everywhere on our beaches and thus evoke the association with our environmental challenges. Both themes are ever present and urgent.

The deep blue, azure, off-white and turquoise forms flow from within the Cabinet from a central source and out into the Zeezaal towards the sea - some appearing to flow through the glass walls and beyond.