Waiting for high tide (Sense of Place)
"Waiting for high water"
A monument to balance and wonder
Proudly and poetically, two five-meter-high metal women look out over the Wadden Sea. This impressive sculpture, called "Waiting for high water", is a creation by Frisian artist Jan Ketelaar. It symbolizes the search for balance and exchange, both between people and nature and between opposites in life.
CONTRAST
THE WOMEN OF METAL
At the edge of the Wadden Sea, where air and water meet, there are two iconic figures:
THE FULL WOMAN
Published in 2018, during the festive year of Leeuwarden-Friesland Capital of Culture. She is tough and grounded, symbolizing strength and abundance.
THE THIN WOMAN
Her counterpart since 2019 – slender and dreamy, like a willow branch in the wind. Together they dance between fullness and emptiness.
SYMBOLISM
The contrast between the two figures raises questions about connection, contrast and harmony - themes that fit the dynamic Wadden landscape.
"As if Mother Wad herself had a face here." – Visitor
ingenuity
JAN KETELAAR
Jan Ketelaar (graduated from the Minerva Academy) is a versatile artist known for his "potzen": serious jokes in metal, language and space. His work balances between humor and philosophy, and reaches further than Friesland:
International exhibitions: From New York to Portugal.
Significant projects:
"The state of the Netherlands": Metre-high statues that he transported through the country by forklift.
Royal fence in Leeuwarden (2014): A bank of lime leaves around the first king's lime in the Netherlands.
Literary talent: Ketelaar is also a poet and finalist of the NK Poetry Slam.
INFORMATION
VISITORS
Location
Nieuwe Zeedijk 9151, Holwert – along the dike with a wide view of the Wadden Sea.
Ideal moment:
At high tide (check tides): The women seem to be in dialogue with the waves.
At sunset: The metal glows in the evening light.
Combine with:
A walk on the dike to the ferry to Ameland.
A visit to the historic Sint Willibrordus Church or local galleries in Holwert.