AIRBORNE

‘Thousands of paratroopers fall from the sky over Brabant to stop a war.
We look up and honour those who jump for us.
The wind takes us and sets us free.’

‘Airborne’ is the core word referring to the historical events that took place 75 years ago in the area around Best, The Netherlands. Carried by the air, thousands of paratroopers, gliders and planes were deployed to liberate our country. The sky was full – an impressive, hopeful, and intense image. Based on this image, we made an art installation with a leading role for the sky.

Next to the Museum Bevrijdende Vleugels (Wings of Liberation), an immense canvas of thousands of white flags has been created above the heads of the public. The flags represent both the many paratroopers who came down here and are a symbol of freedom, celebration and peace. When evening twilight starts, video projections can be seen on the waving flags that depict the jump, the falling, the floating on the wind, the multitude of paratroopers. The flags, the sky: a canvas to commemorate an important moment in history. You can walk under it, sit down, stare at the sky quietly.

Airborne is a work of art that you can always see differently. The wind, the time, the color of the sky and the projections create a spectacle in motion. A spectacle to imagine what happened 75 years ago.

Due to the pandemic, access to the terrain was closed in March 2020, just after the opening of the artwork. Sadly, the video projections have not been seen by many. Maybe they will be shown again in the future. The artwork itself can be visited again though, throughout 2020.

Client: Brabant Remembers
Concept, video projections, video mapping: Blauwe Uur
Art production: Blauwe Uur + Willem Verheij
Photography: Anna van Kooij
Drone filming: Floris Tils