This series comes from my five years of contact with nature via my allotment garden in Rotterdam. Historically, Rotterdam is known as an industrial city in the Netherlands. In 2016, I immigrated to this city to study as a PhD researcher at the university. Within two years, I applied for an allotment garden (volkstuin, in Dutch). My allotment garden lies at the north corner of the city, right outside of the highway ring and inter-city railroad.
It is typical in the Netherlands that urban land which cannot be used otherwise becomes natural space. In this little patch of 220 m2, together with my partner, we have been labouring away our energy - fixing the 4mx4m wooden house, growing vegetables, installing solar panels...
By looking for the rhythm of seasons, I came to understand how to appreciate the presence of nature in a densely populated Dutch city. It's unlike my impressions from visiting raw landscapes such as Patagonia, or Tibetan Plateau. I felt that I came to understand my relationship with the universe in an unexpectedly deep way, beyond descriptions of language. This series of photos is to record and convey my non-verbal inspirations from the nature of Rotterdam.
