What If The Summer Rain Will Freeze: Ronald van der Meijs

Not only installations, but also electronic sound performances, often reflecting the core concept of his installations, are part of his larger body of work, where sound, space, and materiality converge into a narrative of their own. Unlike his physical approach to developing installations, which involves small models, sketches, and test parts, he designs sound in a highly intuitive way, using sound modules and a variety of samplers that combine analog, mechanical, and advanced musical technologies.

“Many books, exploring themes of time, technology, nature, exploration, different cultures, and the unseen dimension of life, all topics central to my own practice, have influenced my thinking and artistic approach. However, when I start an art project, this is the approach I take: every new art project begins with thorough research into the history and context of the exhibition location as a site-specific work. My sources include books, digital newspapers, and independent online news outlets, with a preference for non-Western perspectives.”

For Conflux, Van der Meijs is working on a new installation, uniquely created and commissioned for this year’s Rites of Decay edition. “This commissioned work for Conflux Festival is a site-specific installation for one of the cold storage rooms of Het Katoenhuis. This building is an early example of globalism, through its export of exotic fruits and vegetables. The installation metaphorically explores the impact of consumerism and the depletion of natural resources and drinking water, driven by an extreme globalised economy,” says Ronald van der Meijs.

Rainwater collected in Rotterdam, containing microorganisms and dust particles from distant regions, is transformed into ice cubes through a mechanical production process. These frozen time capsules are released in a continuous cycle, producing an unpredictable and contemplative sound composition realised through the use of Nepalese singing bowls. The ice cubes complete their journey by melting at the feet of the audience, a transient ritual that leaves behind traces of our current global condition. “Explaining the concept development of this installation, it all starts with the location itself, its meaning, context, and history,” continues Ronald.

Het Katoenhuis, a striking Rotterdam port warehouse, was built in 1951 for handling raw cotton from South America and Egypt. Producing 1 kg of cotton requires 10,000 litres of water, and global production reaches 26 million tonnes annually. In Europe alone, 260 thousand tonnes of clothing are destroyed each year. More recently, until 2022, the building served as cold storage for exotic fruits from equatorial countries. Just 15% of imported fruit and vegetables remain in the Netherlands; the remaining 85% are exported across Europe after being made ready to eat through cooling and packaging. 

What is now reimagined as a hub for immersive technology, culture, and innovation, hosting many exhibitions and installations, is historically an emblem reflecting the broader ritual of overconsumption: resource-intensive, wasteful, and driven by commercial gain.

“For Rites of Decay, I address overconsumption as a modern ritual, instant gratification through impulse purchases, luxury items we already own, and convenience goods we do not need. Het Katoenhuis, once an early example of global trade, becomes a stage for reflecting on this cycle and its environmental consequences: extreme overproduction, excessive transport, algorithmic manipulation, and escalating climate pollution.”

What If The Summer Rain Will Freeze, the title of the installation, is set to transform one of the building’s original cold rooms into a performative machine work. At the centre of the room, an industrial ice cube machine will tirelessly produce ice cubes made from collected rainwater. Not only is the location significant, but the use of ice cubes is also metaphorical: a symbol of a luxury product, ephemeral and indulgent. Ultimately, the installation becomes a stage where people can witness, contemplate, and interpret the choreography of process and material. Through observation, the audience enters into dialogue with the installation, and, by extension, with the objects themselves, affirms Ronald.

Alongside the installation, the artist will perform a daily electronic live set, incorporating the analogue sounds of the installation into a conceptual soundscape that reflects, once again, the essence of the work: a complete cycle from start to finish. As Ronald himself said, his practice is an ongoing exploration of dialogue, between installation, nature, physics, and audience, where each element influences and transforms the others.

If you are curious to explore Ronald van der Meijs’ body of work and revisit some of his impressive installations worldwide, we suggest visiting his website or getting a copy of If I Should Live in the Past, I Wouldn’t Need a Memory, a monograph featuring a selection of 22 years of art projects.