De Manteling: Orange forest
A 360° view of the forest in the Overduin estate
Painting height: 4.85 meter
Painting length: 21.5 meter
Period of time: March 2015 – April 2016
Painting time: about 1,l350 man hours
WHERE IS THIS?
The Orange forest can be found in the “mantle” of Walcheren between the nature areas of “Oranjezon” near Vrouwenpolder and Oostkapelle, as part of the Overduin estate. The area is mostly owned by the Delta Utility company and is managed by the Zeeuws Landschape foundation.
THE RESULT
When you walk into this enormous artwork, a nearly closed circle, you literally stand in the forest. The idea was to give you the feeling that you were standing in the middle of a Cathedral. The idea materialized when the painter was in Barcelona and was visiting the Sagrada Familia. He saw a forest in it: the pillars are the trees and the stained glass windows worked as the light between the trees. With this idea he went to the forest to take photographs. Twenty photos all together formed the whole work. It took a whole year to complete this project. The name Orange forest led to the use of orange tones as complementary colours against all of the green.
There are two animals in the picture – can you find them?