Fish Fountain at Stavoren

11 Fountains Project in Holland

fish fountain

The sea gives, the sea takes. Stavoren, once a rich Hanseatic city, has much to say on this subject. Floods, maritime trade wars, a port that silted up: the city fell into poverty several times. But again and again it focused on bringing new prosperity by its seafaring and fishing traditions. Folk stories such as ‘the Lady of Stavoren’ offer vivid tales of that every-changing fate. ‘The Fish Fountain for Stavoren’ adds a new story, with a nod to a symbolic print by Pieter Bruegel the Elder: ‘How big fish eat little ones!’ We see how the enormous open mouth of a massive fish swallows up those who venture past its water-spraying lips. Who can escape the lure of the Stavoren fish? 

stavoren, the netherlands : Fryslân

Synthetic resin, PU-foam, steel
3.3 m high, 6 m wide, 8.4 m long

Inspiration: the history of Stavoren’s fisheries and a print by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Location: the square by the Stationsweg at the harbour

Eleven fountains in the eleven Frisian cities, designed by eleven artists from different countries. 11fountains is an international art project for Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018, European Cultural Capital, envisioned and curated by Anna Tilroe.