Broken Circle and Spiral Hill: having entropy the Dutch way
“This is a major work, I want to have good reproductions in magazines. I want the piece to remain forever. Please help!”
Broken Circle/Spiral Hill
Robert Smithson
1971
Emmen, the Netherlands
Water, earth, topsoil, sand, and boulder
Broken Circle: diameter: 140 ft. (42.6 m); canal: 12 ft. (3.6 m) wide, 10-15 ft. (3-4.5 m) deep; Spiral Hill: diameter: 75 ft. (22.9 m) at base
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
In a sand quarry in the Northeastern Netherlands, Smithson has carved into the shoreline, flooding the resulting dikes to form an interlocking canal and jetty. At the sculpture’s center lies a single glacial boulder, while the hillside above features a winding spiral path—a manifestation of Smithson’s fascination with spirals and their elusive promise of a final destination. The work iterates the irreversible impact of industry—the land can never go back to what it was before—yet its hypnotizing beauty calls for a reevaluation of the relationship between nature and construction.
Broken Circle/Spiral Hill was created in 1971 especially for the now legendary Sonsbeek Buiten de Perken exhibition in an active sand quarry just outside Emmen and it is Smithson's only earthwork outside of the United States. It is an artwork of two parts. Broken Circle is a semi-circular jetty built into the quarry lake, filled with reflecting green water. Spiral Hill rises into a cone-shaped hill beside the lake. A spiraling path leads to the top, from where the quarry and Broken Circle can be seen from above. At the center is an immovable huge boulder deposited by the ancient glacial movements.
We work closely with Land Art Contemporary on securing a sustainable future for the artwork, which sits on private land, and in 2025 the Province of Drenthe designated the artwork as a provincial monument. In January and February 2026 a series of bus excursions to visit Broken Circle/Spiral Hill (1971) have been organized: learn more and get tickets to visit here.
