LASAI (Abandoned Highway)

Fake abandoned Highway 

2023

The title of the work, "Lasai" means something similar to: "Take it easy" or "Take your time" in the basque language. It cristallized as the title during my time on site, the french part of the basque country. While visiting the surrounding villages with the locals, it became clear to me very early that this was a fitting motto regarding the way of life in the region.

Above an old roman pathway, covered by a thick layer of soil, we installed a stone-paved area resembling  an overgrown, decaying, abandoned highway segment. A long, narrow strip of land that's been shaped and decorated to mimic a section of road. Pieces of concrete arranged to represent the cracked and broken surface of an old road. Vegetation growing between the "cracks," giving the impression of nature reclaiming the man-made structure.

This piece lays long the pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. In fact, it is the convergence point of pilgrimage routes from Le Puy-en-Velay, Tours, and Vézelay, which start their long ascent into the pyrenees mountains into spain. 

Thousands of people every year walk this way, for different reasons. Besides a spiritual meaning this travel by foot holds for many christians, nowadays the route is walked by people who just simply want to reconnect with the nature along the path, and walking, rather than using any motorised way of moving. 

The idea to walk for thousands of kilometres seems somewhat absurd, in times where efficiency and speed is of utmost importance. This work takes a jab at the notion that we humans must always use the way of least resistance in order to advance in life. Sometimes, it seems, we can also take a step back, take our time to reach a goal, in order to be able to take in the beauty of the journey itself.

This artwork may well be a monument to the notion productivity and efficiency, which in some walks of life may not be the adequate way of living. This work should highlight the transience of human constructions, the power of nature to reclaim spaces and a commentary on the history of transportation and its impact on the landscape. The artwork integrates with its surroundings, creating a thought-provoking contrast between the "abandoned" highway segment and the actively used path.