The Parable of the Beaver, 2022
Mixed media and sizes

Beavers are superheroes. This animal helps us to prevent the land from getting too dry or too wet. They bring about a huge increase in biodiversity, create a habitat for fish, butterflies, and birds, and provide food for various planteating animals. They prevent nitrate and phosphorus from flowing directly into big waterways, lakes, and the sea, and prevent pollution of heavy metals in the soil. Beavers have many superpowers. Their teeth consist partly of metal and never stop growing. Their bodies produce salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin. Moreover, they are unparalleled system engineers.

According to ecologist, artist and activist Suzanne Husky, beavers embody the highest form of spirituality. Beavers are often depicted on the base of totem poles, representing stability and ingenuity. Husky invites visitors of Het HEM to pick out a ‘beaver chew’ and keep it with them like a talisman.

In the Netherlands, the beaver has been thriving for several decades. After becoming totally extinct, the first beavers were reintroduced in 1988. By now there are 4,000 of them, but in our heavily regulated Dutch miniature landscape they also cause a lot of problems. They dig tunnels in dykes, holes beneath roads, and regularly flood a pasture with their dams. This leads to a passionate game of seduction, in order to coax protected beavers to regions where they do not hamper humans in their hyper-efficient and supposedly urgent lifestyle.