Like a spirit level, Sea Level by the American artist Richard Serra lies in the middle of the landscape park De Wetering. The two concrete walls cut through the park, which was designed in 1986 by landscape architect Pieter van der Molen in collaboration with artist Bas Maters. The walls, each two hundred meters long, are positioned diagonally in alignment on either side of a canal. At their ends, the walls blend almost imperceptibly into the landscape, while in the middle, at the park’s lowest point, they rise several meters high.
Sea Level by Richard Serra gives physical meaning to the concept of sea level: without the dikes, the water would reach up to the top edge of the walls. Walking alongside the wall, the artwork creates the sensation of “going underwater” — only to slowly resurface a little further along.
