Catalyst 2026: Fragment of the Foundations for a Babel Tower by Fiona Tan
Opening to the public on October 17 2026, Fragment of the Foundations for a Babel Tower is a large-scale installation on the historic East Lawn of Planting Fields, just north of the Main House. Created by 2026 Catalyst artist Fiona Tan, Fragment invites visitors to wander its pathways and contemplate themes of communication and the human desire to build shared understanding – and how those efforts can be both ambitious and fallible.
Turris Babel (detail) by Coenraet Decker, after Lieven Cruyl (1679)
The Tower of Babel is a myth and biblical story that attempts to explain the origins of the myriad languages in the world. According to the myth, a united human race speaking a single language attempted to build a tower to reach the heavens. Unsuccessful in their efforts, humanity was scattered around the world and lost their common tongue. The story serves as a warning against hubris. Inspired by this myth, Tan has imagined remnant foundations for such a tower within the landscape of Planting Fields.
Tan’s labyrinth-like installation draws inspiration from Athanasius Kircher’s Turris Babel, published in Amsterdam in 1679. While Kircher’s text argues the physical impossibility of such a tall architectural structure, Decker’s illustration appears – paradoxically – to prove the exact opposite. The detailed engraving depicts a tower of concentric pathways and soaring arches, still under construction but almost complete. Tan’s installation, however, exists in a liminal state; both in the process of being created and at the same time, in ruins. The design appears in fragments, as if partially uncovered during an archaeological dig.
Sketch for Fragment of the Foundations for a Babel Tower, Fiona Tan, 2026
Tan’s work echoes the tradition of the garden folly. It is a playful, nonessential structure that serves as a focal piece of architecture in a designed landscape. Yet Fragment considers another kind of folly; the vain attempt of powerful rulers to dictate the use of language and to maintain universal control. Set within the cultivated landscape of Planting Fields, this installation is grounded in both history and myth while also offering reflection on the current status quo.
Tan is the seventh artist to be commissioned as part of Planting Fields Foundation’s annual Catalyst program. Fragment is generously supported by Dutch Culture USA and the Mondriaan Fonds and will be on view through fall 2027.
This Catalyst project was made possible by generous funding from:
Fiona Tan, photographed by Andreas Langfeld, 2023.
About Fiona Tan
Fiona Tan (b. 1966) is an internationally acclaimed visual artist and filmmaker renowned for her captivating film and video installations. Her work explores memory, diaspora, and the mutability of identity through archives and moving images. Tan represented the Netherlands at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009 with her acclaimed installation Disorient. Her work has been prominently featured in solo exhibitions and is part of major public collections such as the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, MAXXI Rome, Guggenheim Museum, and the Tate Modern.
About Catalyst
Every year since 2020, Planting Fields Foundation has commissioned artists to create site-specific art within the 409-acres of Planting Fields. Catalyst continues the legacy of artistic patronage the Coe family brought to Planting Fields over a century ago by inviting leading artists of their time to create work for the site. Through Catalyst, we challenge and expand our relationships with history as we explore this site from different points of view.