‘Kyllia’ follows the River Kyll
Amber Rijcken and Timo Leemans have wrapped their sculpture, which is modelled on a fish, around one of the huge trees in the ‘Hahn’ woodland park. The fish sculpture – made from natural wood collected on site – follows the Kyll loop far above the river and refers to the direction of flow of one of the longest rivers in the Eifel.
The artist couple call their sculpture ‘Kyllia’. With this poetic title, they refer to the Celtic word ‘gilum’ for stream, which is regarded as the river’s namesake and which bore the title ‘Kila’ in the Middle Ages. In their artistically interpreted realisation, the artists elevate their sculpture ‘Kyllia’ to the goddess of the river, the streams, of change and of light. During the creation process, ‘Kyllia’ took the form of a fish that follows the course of the Kyll river. Their sculpture is a temple to connect with this magical place and ‘Kyllia’. Rijcken and Leemans ask: ‘Could a goddess once again play a role in the connection between humankind and nature, allowing people to enter into a different relationship with her and the valley?
The curators say: ‘The work of Rijcken and Leemans, which expanded conceptually from the design through the process of their artistic creation in the Hahn, is exemplary for the idea and location of the Art Route’.
Rijcken studied Painting at the St Lucas Academy of Art in Ghent and at the HGB in Leipzig. Leemans completed his studies in the field of ‘Future Planet Studies’. The couple live and work in Amsterdam.
Amber Rijcken
