Maartje Korstanje |2

The residents of the De Heeze quarter in Apeldoorn were looking for an artwork to adorn their public space, preferably a tall sculpture related to nature and social cohesion. They selected a design by Maartje Korstanje: a group of five sculptures inspired by the characteristic head of the morel. In an open space surrounded by roads, a service flat and a vegetable garden, the sculptures visualise the connections among people in the neighbourhood. After all, mushrooms are not solitary organisms but the fruiting bodies of an elaborate underground network of fungal mycelia. Korstanje was in Oisterwijk during the winter, when large works need much longer to dry, so she had less time to build them. This forced spontaneity only added to the organic look of the sculptures that were installed last September, to acclaim of the residents of De Heeze.