Artwork Article 1 - Liberty Tree

Sometimes it is necessary to once again draw attention to Article 1, the law of equal treatment and against discrimination. The artwork Liberty Tree / Vrijheidsboom by Jennifer Tee is placed next to the Plaquette Article 1, which features the text of the law. The inspiration for this artwork arose from a discussion in the municipal council of Breda regarding whether or not to install a Chinese Pavilion in Valkenberg Park. Breda deemed it important to express through a new artwork the values that this city stands for.

The artwork came about through a collaboration between Stedelijk Museum Breda and the Municipality of Breda.

The artwork was chosen from three design sketches by the residents of Breda. The other artists were Folkert de Jong and Monica Dahlberg.

Liberty Tree / Vrijheidsboom
Artist Jennifer Tee is interested in the communication between trees and plants within an immense network of collaborations, which respond to their environment. Such underground collaborations can be seen as a model for coexistence in a world where equality is paramount. For this work, she was further inspired by Freedom Trees from the past.

Freedom Trees
In 1790 —a year after the outbreak of the French Revolution— the first freedom tree was planted in France. This was inspired by the Liberty Tree in Boston. Freedom trees symbolised the beginning of a new era characterized by ‘liberty, equality, and fraternity’. Freedom trees were also planted in the Netherlands. There was such a tree in the Grote Markt in Breda. After the French occupation, it was burned and replaced by a so-called ‘Orange Tree’, as a symbol for the House of Orange-Nassau. Other trees can also be seen as symbols of freedom. For example, think of the tree that Anne Frank looked out at during her time in the Annex, which provided her insight into the beauty of nature and her longing for freedom.

Leaf Motifs
The leaves of trees associated with freedom have been stamped into the bricks that form the shape of a freedom tree in Valkenberg Park.

The Freedom Tree is both a symbol of freedom and a symbol of what is involved in achieving and safeguarding that freedom. The Freedom Tree is not a monument to existing ideas, but primarily an encouragement for the future. Jennifer Tee sees the freedom tree in Valkenberg Park as a work that will function as a meeting place. People can sit around the tree, which invites conversation.