Momentary Constellation

Momentary Constellation in Becoming (with premonition) is a sculptural installation by Gerbrand Burger, artistic director of Thinking Forest. Installed permanently at the regenerative farm ’t Gagel in Gelderland, , the work will slowly decompose and nurture the young forest growing around it. On a late April afternoon, we gathered at ’t Gagel for the presentation of this work.

Originally created for Lustwarande’s 2024 Arbos exhibition, the sculpture was initially crafted from a single local Douglas fir. Following the work’s permanent relocation to ’t Gagel in Lochem, Gerbrand expanded the work to reflect its new environment. Staying true to his practice of using locally grown materials, he added several new elements using a unique fir sourced from the nearby Pinetum de Belten.

Momentary Constellation in Becoming (with premonition) elaborates on Gerbrand's idea of placing art objects – with a clear modern and minimalist heritage – into the forest. While framed as a method of storage, the sculpture functions as the antithesis of preservation, allowing the work to slowly decay. The piece challenges the modernist illusion that humanity should transcend heavy manual labor, as echoed in Constant's New Babylon, and exploit nature for the sake of progress. By letting the sculpture decompose, Burger suggests that this exploitative mindset was a mistake, and that we must learn to move with nature rather than trying to conquer it.

Like Burger’s previous work, On a Trajectory Through a Maze of Trajectories, this sculpture draws its title from the writings of anthropologist Tim Ingold. Ingold posits that materials never truly exist as closed, static objects; instead, they are in a constant state of becoming, each following its own line of flight through a labyrinth of paths. Consequently

The "premonition" within the title belongs to the boulder resting at the work's summit. It silently predicts its own fall, waiting for the moment the rotting wood grows too weak to hold it, making the acceleration of time tangible. While this boulder will remain recognizable far longer than the timber, eventually, the stone too will yield, moving onward into new iterations.

’t Gagel is a 45-hectare regenerative community farm and international educational center located in Lochem, in the Achterhoek region of the Netherlands. Founded under the Lenteland initiative to permanently protect land for future generations, the farm rejects commercial monoculture in favor of "radical diversity," utilizing agroforestry, no-dig vegetable gardens, and a food forest campground.

By seamlessly weaving together local food production, eco-tourism, workshops, and cross-disciplinary initiatives like the ERF residency, ’t Gagel serves as a pioneering model for a healthier, deeply connected regional food culture.

Thinking Forest wishes to thank ’t Gagel, Pinetum de Belten, and Stichting Bodemzicht for their invaluable support in bringing this sculpture and event to life.