“The Bears” is a sculpture placed in the Waldecker park in Maastricht (NL).
This sculpture is also a playground and invites children and adults alike to play.
Until mid nineties there was an enclosure with with real brown bears. They were on display for the public near the playground, where the “Bears” are located now.
The emotions connected with the original bears and the cage are ambivalent.
People especially children loved the bears but the animals suffered a life in captivaty in a concrete prison.
Luckily awful enclosure has been abolished but the memory for the tragic stars, the bears, remained.
The sculpture “The Bears” resemble a mother with its young. The mother’s nose is pointing towards the original location of the enclosure. The shape of the bears is itself a cage using a tabular frame which can be used to climb and play.
This project was a postgraduate cooperation with Academy of Fine Arts Maatrsicht, Department Product design and the municipality of Maastricht.
Designers Involved:
Albertine Van Iterson, Jessica Bala, Dik Scheepers & Marco Iannicelli
Manufacturer:
Spereco NL
material: Stainless steel (powdercoated), concrete, shock absorbing artificial grass field.
year: 2011
