‘Three workers digging in a field outside the data center,’ by Dinnis van Dijken – Sign

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‘Three workers digging in a field outside the data center,’ by Dinnis van Dijken

20 May, 2026<br>door Sign

--><br>This text is a documentation of the performance that happened on the 15th of May at Westpoort, Groningen, near the upcoming Google’s datacenter.

The idea to record the performance in the form of text was only made possible by the dedication and help from the writer of this text, Dinnis van Dijken.

Three workers digging in a field

outside the data center

by Dinnis van Dijken

We were too early. A hare flew past the field before us as we checked our location on Google Maps. The tarmac was still damp from the rain of the night before. Enzy had warned me to wear a warm jacket, long pants and practical shoes as the field was going to be wet. My army boots were a good choice.

We waited on a pile of concrete slabs. It was 08:45 and there was nothing before us except a power grid and some industrial buildings. The harsh cackling of a pheasant interrupted the otherwise silent field. We hadn’t expected to cycle this fast. The weather had been good. Little wind, sunshine and no one on the road.

At 08:55 a yellow van took a turn towards the field and crawled into an off ramp across from us. It took a few moments before people emerged and started hauling equipment out of the van and putting on jackets. Their mute and anonymous arrival gave the illusion of a dodgy deal that was about to take place. Then Enzy laughed and waved from afar and the feeling lifted. She had a white hard hat and a clipboard ready in her arm. I wouldn’t have questioned their presence in the field if I had just been passing by. There are always people standing around industrial terrain with hard hats and clipboards.

As we walked towards the group, traffic cones, shovels, a crate, a stack of stools and a large Albert Heijn bag came out of the back of the van. Hector was carrying a tripod and other gear. Enzy pointed towards the field. It had a small black plastic barrier around it, the kind meant to hold back excess water or very small animals. She said that recently she had been far into the field, but that today we would stay somewhat closer to the road. We grabbed whatever was at our feet and walked in. Hector paused at a small sign near the barrier that said something about danger to life and high voltage. He seemed hesitant about stepping over it, but I wasn’t sure if he was serious. A rabbit scurried past us about ten meters away. It seemed safe enough.

The field was lush with ankle high thistles, rye grass and other weeds that had taken the recent mixture of rain and sunshine well. I recognized the wet grey clay soil as my own. My allotment was the same. I kicked it a little. It was wet but workable. Heavy and saturated with water and roots, but friendly. Two weeks ago the soil would not have yielded to any tool after the dry spell we’d had. It would have been hard as a brick. I have broken many shovels against soil like that and lost. Today was the best situation we could have had. The weather really seemed to support Enzy’s work. The sun sat behind a milky cloud. Not too harsh a light for the videographers and not too cold.

Enzy and I moved traffic cones into the field, marking the boundaries for the workers to dig in. They hadn’t arrived yet. I wasn’t sure if the cones should be in frame or out of it. Enzy didn’t say. She went to speak to Hector and I stood in the field holding a traffic cone. It was somewhat dirty and broken and only two out of four cones were similar to each other. I looked up and saw a hare looking back at me. We were both not sure what was going on.

Three men arrived, as did Marie-Jeanne and Ron. They all seemed elated. The tallest appeared to be in charge of the other two. He did the most talking and wore the same white hard hat as Enzy. The other two were smiling and stayed more in the background. They put yellow neon high vis vests over the orange high vis coats they were already wearing. Enzy had made these to obscure the logos of the company they normally work for. It also provided protection in case of trouble. Regardless, the workers seemed comfortable in the field but slightly unsure about the whole event. I didn’t blame them. When the workers spoke I recognized their accents as local to the North. Coffee and suikerbrood were passed around.

At 09:34 the workers walked decisively towards the area marked with the traffic cones. I wasn’t sure when the cones had found their rightful position. Enzy directed the workers, pointing and making shovel-like movements with her arms. The wind carried some of her words over. She told them not to look at the cameras when they passed by.

Two workers were far out and the tall hard hat man was nearest. He was wearing blue gloves. The others weren’t. They faced the power grid and the data center at the far end of the field. The power grid...