Dweilen met de Kraan Open

Isabela Verhagen

Since the heavy rainfalls flooded the streets of Valencia in 2024, I could not stop thinking about the images of the residents sweeping the muddy streets. Amid the enormous amounts of mud and water, the act of sweeping seemed futile. These pictures conveyed a clear message: people are trying to manage the damaging consequences of climate change. Starting from this image, my project depicts men sweeping the floor while standing in the water, ankle deep. In front of the sweepers, on the floor, is a house and a car swept away by the floods. The tapestries are accompanied by a ceramic fuel nozzle with a knitted oil spill attached, symbolising the fossil fuel companies that accelerate climate change. The installation is created to show the stark contrast between individuals fighting the consequences of climate change, while elsewhere, the oil tap is still running. The title refers to a Dutch saying, literally translated as ‘mopping the floor with the faucet open.