Several months have passed since the Turning the Tide International Lab unfolded in Seestadt, Vienna—an event that brought together artists, researchers, and communities to explore the role of art in addressing ecological change. Among the most memorable creations to emerge from that residency is Inside the Belly of a Garden, a site-specific public art installation conceived by Greek-born, New York-based artist Jenny Marketou.
This work reimagines a 120-year-old wooden Zille boat, once used to navigate the Danube, now repurposed into a living garden sculpture along the lake promenade of Seestadt. Carefully planted and landscaped, the boat sits quietly at the water’s edge, blending into its new environment while retaining echoes of its past. As Marketou notes, the piece becomes both “sculpture and vessel, literally and metaphorically,” engaging with water not merely as a resource, but as a “living archive”—a carrier of histories, memories, and ecological change.
A Vessel of Histories, an Invitation to Reflection
Over the winter months, the plants within the boat lay dormant under the weight of the Viennese cold. Now, with the arrival of spring, they begin to bloom again—softly transforming the boat into a lush, green beacon of regeneration. Informational signs have been added nearby to help passers-by understand the nature of the artwork and to engage with it respectfully. Already, the installation has drawn the attention of local residents and visitors alike, many of whom stop for moments of quiet contemplation or to admire its evolving beauty.
More than a visual landmark, this sculptural intervention is an emotional and ecological gesture. “I am interested to engage with water as a living archive,” Marketou explains, “bringing the boat from the Danube River into the man-made Aspern lake in Seestadt… a gesture to water’s role in carrying histories, stories, and traumas, both ecological and personal”. The sculpture activates a dialogue between the artwork, the environment, and the diverse community of Seestadt—inviting new ways of coexisting and imagining shared ecological futures.
From Local Roots to Global Conversations
While deeply rooted in the specific landscape and rhythms of Seestadt, Marketou’s vision extends far beyond the shores of the Aspern lake. In collaboration with SLPIT ArtSpace and the University of Applied Arts Vienna (Angewandte), she is curating an exhibition and public program in May 2025. This multifaceted project will include a video work, a reflective journey through the process of creating the installation, a live sound performance with artist Patrick Topitschnig, and a hands-on workshop at the boat site itself.
These events are designed to activate the senses and deepen the community’s engagement with the ideas at the heart of the installation—namely, water’s agency, the interconnectedness of species, and the role of public art in fostering ecological awareness. “It creates a sense of multiple timelines stitched together,” Marketou writes, “much like how water flows across and through histories”.
A Living Reminder of Sustainability
As Seestadt continues to grow as a model for sustainable urban development, Inside the Belly of a Garden stands as a living, evolving companion—reminding all who pass by that sustainability is not just an abstract idea, but something that can be rooted, nurtured, and allowed to flourish in the spaces we share.
The work exemplifies the ethos of the Turning the Tide project: to empower communities through artistic interventions that reflect and respond to the environmental urgencies of our time. With each passing season, this boat-garden quietly tells its story—a story of transformation, memory, and the blooming potential of coexistence.
