The Waterline Monument , commissioned by the Province of Utrecht for the occasion of the inclusion of the New Dutch Waterline on the Unesco World Heritage list depicts in a contemporary manner the ingenious hydraulic engineering of the New Dutch Waterline.
The New Dutch Waterline is an extensive historic military defence system that lies hidden in the landscape. As one of the most important elements in this system, Gijs Van Vaerenbergh chose to work with the figure of a lock, used as a gate to hold back the waters. The Waterline Monument is an abstract reconstruction of the figure of a lock. The work was formed through the stacking of hundreds of open steel tubes of different lengths. A field of tension is created: the logic of stacking creates an abstract repetition; the diversity of lengths creates an irregular relief.
The Waterline Monument is installed on top of the slope between the A12 motorway and the green recreation area Laagravense Plassen in Utrecht (The Netherlands).