Mother Meuse settles in Kinrooi

Monumental artwork by Laure Prouvost installed

26 June 2025

Today, a monumental bronze sculpture by renowned French artist Laure Prouvost is being installed at the Bastion in Kinrooi. The work is the latest addition to the Art on the Meuse project. Following Tree of Life in Lanaken, Kinrooi now welcomes its own permanent artwork. In the coming weeks, final preparations will be completed. From 13 July, Mother! Oui dream till the end will be accessible to the public in the water near the Bastion in Kessenich.

Mother Meuse: a symbol of fertility and connection

In the far northeast of Kinrooi lies a vast gravel lake — formed through gravel extraction, now a peaceful retreat for nature and visitors. It is at this unexpected site that Mother! Oui dream till the end by Laure Prouvost finds her home. The monumental sculpture is an artistic interpretation of Mother Meuse, the river that has brought fertility and prosperity to this region for centuries. That’s why locals affectionately call her Mother Meuse.

Prouvost envisions Mother Meuse as a hybrid figure: half woman, half aquatic creature, with a pregnant belly, tentacled arms, and bronze birds resting on her limbs. Like a protective mother, she embraces a mound of Meuse gravel, originating from the same ground that shaped the lake. The gravel refers to the area’s past as a site of extraction but here takes on new meaning—as a symbol of care, connection, and rootedness in the landscape. With one of her tentacles, Mother Meuse plants a flag into the gravel, inscribed with the words Oui dream till the end. The flag remains visible, even when the lake floods, allowing the artwork to interact with the natural rhythm of its surroundings.

The location is no coincidence. This site lies near Belgium’s northeasternmost point, often referred to as ‘the end of Belgium’—a symbolic border where nature, history, and landscapes converge. Prouvost, herself from the French-Belgian border region, often plays with multilingualism and shifting meanings in her work. “Oui sounds like we,” she explains, “The flag expresses the hope that we keep dreaming together—till the end.”

The choice of a half-octopus form reflects a recurring theme in Prouvost’s practice. An octopus has multiple hearts and no central brain. Its senses and brain are distributed through its tentacles. It thinks by feeling and feels by thinking. By merging these animal qualities with a human form, Prouvost invites us to look differently, to think differently, and to empathise with other beings.

Craftsmanship without borders

Mother! Oui dream till the end is not only a striking landmark in the Meuse Valley, but also a testament to international craftsmanship. The monumental sculpture, six metres long, three metres high, and weighing nearly two tonnes, was realised through an intensive production process lasting over a year and a half, in collaboration with specialist bronze foundries in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Laure Prouvost began the creative process with various ideas, sketches, and clay models. In dialogue with a local working group of residents from Kinrooi, the final design for Mother Meuse was selected and refined. Based on this, a 3D scan was produced at Brons Atelier in Zottegem, followed by a life-sized foam model, which was meticulously detailed by a team of sculptors. The moulds were transported to Balk in the Netherlands, where the bronze was cast at temperatures reaching 1200°C. After cooling, the components returned to Belgium for polishing and final assembly.

Installing the sculpture on-site demanded technical precision. Due to the scale of the work and its location in open water, a temporary dam was constructed, allowing the foundation to be built in dry conditions. Once completed, the foundation will once again be submerged, making the sculpture appear to rise from the lake.

A new landmark for Kinrooi

With the arrival of Mother! Oui dream till the end, Kinrooi welcomes a new artistic landmark, seamlessly integrated into the landscape of RivierPark Maasvallei.

Mark Hoedemakers, Kinrooi’s alderman for culture, emphasises the significance of the work: “This artwork is much more than a tourist attraction. It is a powerful symbol of who we are as a community along the Meuse—connected to the water, our history, and our future. Mother Meuse invites everyone to pause, observe, and experience the landscape in a new way.”

From the outset, a local working group of Kinrooi residents was closely involved in the creative process. Group member Luc Vanthoor reflects: “We literally started with a blank slate, with the goal of shaping an artwork that holds meaning for our municipality. It was essential to me that the work be rooted in Kinrooi—and I believe we’ve succeeded.”

Art on the Meuse: a growing network

Mother! Oui dream till the end is the second permanent work within the Art on the Meuse project. The first, Tree of Life by Mark Dion, was installed in Herbricht (Lanaken). On 24 August, Reflection by Germaine Kruip will be unveiled in Meeswijk (Maasmechelen), followed by a new work by Adrien Tirtiaux in Maaseik this autumn.

For families with children

The artwork is easily visible from the Bastion, but by following the dike path, visitors can approach it up close. Along the riverbank, families will also find large Meuse pebbles with playful activities for children.

Accessibility

Mother! Oui dream till the end is easily accessible via the walking and cycling network of RivierPark Maasvallei. Visitors can park at car parks 3 or 4 in the Kessenich en de Drie Eigen walking area. From there, follow the Art on the Meuse signage: via the red walking route from car park 3, or the purple route from car park 4. Sturdy walking shoes are recommended, though visitors can also access the Bastion directly.

For those looking to explore further, the red walking trail continues through Koningssteen-Kollegreend, one of the Meuse Valley’s most scenic natural areas. Along the way, walkers pass Belgium’s symbolic ‘end of the country’, subtly referenced by Prouvost in the title of her work.

Cyclists can access the sculpture between nodes 21 and 22. The cycling networks of Flanders, the Netherlands, and Germany connect seamlessly here.

Looking for a multi-day micro-adventure? The long-distance hiking trail of RivierPark Maasvallei passes by the artwork. Or experience Mother! from the water by renting a whisper boat via Botel Ophoven or a Treibgut raft via Sailcenter Limburg. More local tips are available at https://visitkinrooi.com/en/home/.

About Art on the Meuse

Art on the Meuse is an initiative of Z33 – House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture (Hasselt) and Regional Landscape Kempen & Maasland. The project is made possible with the support of the Flemish Government (Tourism Flanders and the Cultural Infrastructure Fund), De Vlaamse Waterweg, and the five Meuse Valley municipalities (Kinrooi, Maaseik, Dilsen-Stokkem, Maasmechelen, and Lanaken), in collaboration with many partners active within RivierPark Maasvallei.

This project was realised in collaboration with a local Kinrooi working group (Jörgen Janssenswillen, Anja Neskens, Koen Prikken, Christel Rutten, Luc Vanthoor), the municipality of Kinrooi, De Vlaamse Waterweg, Brons Atelier, Flassh Bronsgieterij Balk (NL), Vandebos Construction, Ebema, Dr. Ir. Ing. Robrecht Keersmaekers, Peter Firman, Magma Architecten, and Dinanderie Clabots.

Special thanks to the tentacles of the studio: Mona Pouillon, Dora Benyó, Elia Castina, and Véronique Vaes.

About Laure Prouvost

Laure Prouvost (Croix-Lille, 1978) lives and works between Antwerp and London.

She was awarded the Turner Prize in 2013, the Max Mara Prize for Women in 2011, the Principal Prize at the Oberhausen Short Film Festival in 2010 and 2011, the FIPRESCI Critics’ Prize at the festival’s 62nd edition, and the EAST International Award in 2009. In 2016, she was named Knight of the National Order of Merit, and in 2019, Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. That same year, she represented France at the 58th Venice Biennale.

Her work has been shown in numerous solo exhibitions at leading national and international art institutions, including De Pont, Bonnefantenmuseum, and M HKA. Her artworks are held in various public and private collections.

Through video, drawings, tapestries, ceramics, photography, performance, and above all language, Laure Prouvost creates immersive installations that transport viewers into a world of personal and collective introspection. Words, images, memories, and sensory experiences—everything that seems tangible and familiar—is turned upside down by the whimsical ambiguity of her storytelling. Her playful, humorous relationship with language is shaped by her lived experience, navigating between everyday English and her mother tongue.