Fortress of Fortuna, 11Fountains

Eleven fountains in the eleven Frisian cities, designed by eleven artists from eleven different countries. 11fountains is an international art project for Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018, cultural capital of Europe.

The horn of Sneek
“The man with the horn of plenty refers to an image of Fortuna, the goddess of fortune and the patroness of cities, families and peoples. The overflowing horn, a symbol of luck and power, brings material prosperity to anyone who comes into contact with it.

But the man holding the horn of plenty in Sneek stands on a golden sphere that continuously rotates on its axis. The sphere is driven by the recoil of the water flowing from the horn. Thus the influx of fortune becomes an incalculable, blind force. Who benefits from it and how long it lasts remains an open question. Luck and fate are decisive. The abundance that happens to shower itself on us can just as quickly be taken away from us.

The volatile nature of the Cornucopia is reflected in the man's ambivalent facial expression and neutral clothing. You cannot detect any clear emotional state or anything personal in it. Its indeterminacy makes us experience the fountain of Fortune as an opposite pole that confronts man with himself. He raises the question of what we actually observe and what life means. At the same time, we realize that no answer can be definitive.”