Wise Peels Outdoor Concept
Wise Peels
Nutrient-rich orange peel, usually discarded, becomes a metaphor for life’s forgotten layers, like the wisdom of elders.
Outdoor free-standing installation, expanding on the PEELed indoor wall hanging series (exhibited Amsterdam Museum. Refresh #3: Imagine the Future. 11 July- 30 Nov 2025. Winner Public Prize)
Currently on exhibit at my Amsterdam Monumental studio (Molenpad 17D. By appointment only)
SCALE: 250 to 400 cm (Concept in progress)
Material: Composit
LOCATION: TBD
Monument to the Wise Peels (2026/7 – Outdoor Dream in Development)
Wise Peels is a large-scale outdoor sculpture project currently in development. It expands my artistic research around tangerine peels (PEELed), but is being created as a new work for the public space.
The project consists of one, two to three monumental, freestanding sculptures (3 meters high) made of composite materials. These forms transform the often-discarded orange peel into a symbol of resilience, wisdom, and collective memory.
At this stage, Wise Peels exists as conceptual dream renderings. The exact 3 m-scale designs and engineering of the sculptures will be developed during the upcoming research and design phase.
This is a new project that will be realized in 2026/7.
Rooted to the ground, these forms boldly take up space. Some coil protectively inward, while others stretch outward, mimicking the way a peel might land once released. They assert the dignity and complexity of the cast-off, asking viewers to reconsider what is left behind.
In many cultures, citrus fruits symbolize health, abundance, and renewal. The peel, though not always eaten, contains the highest concentration of vitamins, just as the elderly in society hold layers of lived experience, intuition, and ancestral knowledge. Too often, this wisdom is ignored or cast aside, especially in fast-moving, youth-focused urban life. This work is a tribute to that intrinsic, unpolished, and essential knowledge.
