Ombuds Bärli

On 28 September 2024, Ombuds Bärli by Kati Heck was unveiled in Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo. The sculpture welcomes everyone arriving in Berendrecht via Havenweg and Steenovenstraat.  

On a classical stone pedestal stands a friendly bronze bear, holding a shield in its right paw and balancing a large egg on its head. The heron’s egg refers to the nearby Reigershof and the Reigersbos. The shield, shaped like a water lily leaf, refers to the district’s coat of arms. 

The words legible on the bear’s body – “Oh Du lieben” – are part of Heck’s typical visual language: short, often slightly absurd or poetic expressions that add an extra layer of wonder and humour to her sculptures. This aspect also recurs in her paintings and installations, where she frequently mixes text and image to create an ambiguous or unsettling effect. 

This artwork is one of six new commissions realised as a part of Voorbij het centrum (Beyond the Centre), a project of Kunst in de Stad supported by the Flemish government, which provides new permanent artworks in the so-called peripheral districts of Antwerp. 

Kati Heck (b. 1979) is a German artist who lives and works in Pulle. She is known for her vivid yet somewhat enigmatic paintings, in which she explores the tension between virtuoso realism and unbridled fantasy. Her oeuvre also includes sculpture, photography, film and performance. She draws inspiration from art and literary history, local folklore and her own everyday life.