A helicopter (Bell 407) is reproduced in its original size, in solid ash-wood, via the techniques and in the style of traditional local craftsmen, and placed on a 16-meter-long bridge over the Berkel River, in Vreden. Located on the opposite side of the river is the open-air museum of the heavily damaged in World War II city. It includes a number of old farmhouses, and a watermill translocated from the surrounding area. In this reconstructed idyllic rural village, the rotor of the helicopter is set in careful motion with the power of the Hunningschen watermill, which is run by an archaic drive system comprised of a cogwheel, driving gearwheel, and steel shafts. The helicopter and its rotor-motion-via-watermill was realized as part of the Sculpture Biennial Münsterland, in close cooperation with the Vredener Heritage Association, which maintains operations.

© 2004 Ulrich Genth and Heike Mutter

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