An abstraction of a house, a man-made shelter, a roof over one’s head. The French word parapluie means protection from the rain. Once inside the sculpture, as if under an umbrella, your head stays dry while your feet all the time run the risk of getting wet.

The grass is irrigated by a telescopic water nozzle that regularly pops up from the mound. The sprinkling water is spread in a wide circle around the sculpture. Now and then, randomly and surprisingly, a steamy mist leaks from the pillars. You experience water rising as gas and falling down as liquid at the same time.

At a distance the sculpture mound seems to be wandering about on its thin bronze pillar legs. It is part of the park but liberated from and raised up above it, like a small island, a small nature reserve.

The ground, or rather the little of it that is to be found on its roof, is billowy. The vegetation is luxuriant, but the soil is completely out of reach, raised as it is on lanky pillars, looking like legs. The grassy hill on top is sprinkled with a little water now and then, and then water vapour hisses out from some of the legs. The water humidifies the air, making the grass and anything else that can take root up there thrive. It is like a nature reserve in miniature, beyond cultivation. Standing under this nature reserve is like standing under an umbrella: the upper part of your body stays dry while your feet run the risk of getting wet. It should also be mentioned that Parapluie was designed to be placed outside a water science centre.