Worshipped by sailors and merchants around Zeeland in the 2nd and 3rd century, Nehalennia was a goddess of protection and fertility. The Romans transported goods across the North Sea to supply their legions in England (olive oil and wine from Spain and France) as well as the ones guarding the Rhine border (grain, fish, and wool from England). As a form of insurance or bargain, sailors would promise Nehalennia altars and offerings in exchange for a safe return back home. Lost in the sea for hundreds of years due to floods and tides, the votive altars of Nehalennia reappeared off the coast of Domburg in 1650s and Colijnsplaat in 1970s and are currently in the collection of the several museums in the Netherlands and Belgium.

There is an intruiging spatial overlap between Nehalennia’s sites of worship and the modern flood infrastructure of the Deltawerken. Currently, I am in the processing of developing a new video work, which will bring the two manifestations of negotiation with water together in a singular narrative.