The Bobbing Forest is the brainchild of Jorge Bakker (Columbia, 1973), an artist who lives and works in the Netherlands. A self-styled “designer”, Bakker is primarily known for sculptures and installations with an architectonic twist which often serve to make the invisible qualities of elements like water and wind visible. His ‘In Search Of Habitus’ installation consists of a water-filled aquarium with floating bobbers containing scale-model trees. These miniature trees bob lightly upon and across the water’s surface, evoking questions about the relationship between city dwellers and nature, and their relationship with the world around them.
Jeroen Everaert (art producer of Mothership & Brotherhood), Anne van der Zwaag (art historian and cultural entrepreneur) and Jurgen Bey (Dutch designer) came up with the idea to produce a life-size version of Jorge Bakker’s concept.
The Bobbing Forest will be launched in the Rotterdam Rijnhaven harbour in 2015. In 2014, a prototype buoy tree will be tested and monitored over a six-month period.