Marije Dijkstra explores colour as the language of the Wadden Sea

This year, Arcadia is working with the Netwerk Cultuur & Natuur (Culture & Nature Network) on a development trajectory for artist Marije Dijkstra. This network brings together artists, scientists and landscape partners around one question: how can artists help us look at nature and climate in new ways? Arcadia is a core partner in this trajectory, together with art initiative VHDG as project partner.

From the Baltic Sea to the Wadden Sea

Marije Dijkstra works at the crossroads of art, landscape and ecology. She makes natural processes visible through colour, material and textiles, working from long-term fieldwork and material research. Over the past two years, she experimented in Sweden with pigments from algae in the Baltic Sea, as part of her project Floating. With this new trajectory, she is taking the next step: shifting her research to the Wadden Sea, the landscape of her youth.

Her research question: how can the ecological processes and colour changes of the Wadden Sea contribute to her textile practice, and to her research into colour as a carrier of ecological information?

New techniques, new colour language

While Marije mainly worked with screen printing in Sweden, in this trajectory she is also getting to work with an advanced loom. This way, she is developing a new, ever-changing colour language: a visual way to make the constant shifts in the Wadden landscape visible, through natural dyeing processes, weaving and documentation. She is working together with researcher Katja Philippart from NIOZ, among others, who gives her more insight into algae, water quality and colour changes in the Wadden Sea.

Guidance from VHDG and Arcadia

During her residency, Arcadia connects Marije with other artists, writers and scientists working in the Wadden region, and organises meetings. VHDG provides content guidance and offers a network of artists and curators in the north, which Marije can use to further expand her practice.

On to Pictura

The trajectory will result in a series of textile works made with pigments from the Wadden Sea, and an archive of colour samples, field notes and material research that will keep growing even after this project ends. From 25 November to 12 December 2026, Marije will show her work during the final presentation at Pictura in Groningen. She is also in talks with Arcadia about a possible presentation during Arcadia 2028.