C (Bargerveen)

‘In the site-specific installation ‘C (Bargerveen)’ energy and more specifically carbon cycles are conceptualized. Its spatial structure is exhibited on a peat bog, called Bargerveen. Peat is still being extracted and used as fuel. Usually logged under water and out of reach of oxygen (O), it has a very high carbon (C) content which is released in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere when drying/burning it. Preserving bogs is important for decarbonization, in fighting climate change. For this project, carbon was extracted from local peat samples, and has been synthesized into a diamond, a symbolic way to store carbon. The wireframe geometry in which the diamond in C (Bargerveen) is encapsulated, mimics the atomic crystal structure of carbon in the physical state of a diamond. This diamond, made of earth, contrasts with the human history of the site. Peat bogs in the Northern Netherlands used to be inhabited by people in extreme poverty. Their short-lived, vernacular dwellings are referenced by the resemblance of ‘C (Bargerveen)’ to a tent in its materials - carbon fiber and textile - and its nomadic, modular design.’.