It Goeshoes is a project by visual artist Michel Pol, together with the Kleefstra Bros. It is part of the temporary art exhibition 'Te Plak' in the Dutch village of Nij Beets on December 28th and 29th, 2018.
The Dutch province of Friesland is internationally important as a wintering area for Arctic geese. From October up to spring the numbers of geese can run up over 600.000 geese per month, mainly white-fronted and barnacle geese. They enrich the winter season and the landscape with their presence and sound. But since the province of Friesland turned more and more into a agricultural-industrial landscape, in which the monoculture of fast growing grass for milk production is holy, geese are not welcome anymore. Provincial politics, mainly conservatives, even made it possible for hunters to shoot over 200.000 geese a year and want the hunters to do so...
It Goeshoes is a small cottage in which geese made out of peat, poetry and sound welcome the Arctic geese, like a safe haven in an area where there is hardly any room left for wildlife and biodiversity.
The Kleefstra Bros created a track for It Goeshoes that is played in the cottage. It is available as a free download on Bandcamp.