Tsunami

A deadly wave: Off the top of my head, I can’t see how the world can prevent the destruction caused by a Tsunami. That means we are presented with an all-destroying force of nature, something that threatens our very existence, which we humans just have to include in the calculation. It’s not a threat of a third World War, but of nature, which we love and which keeps us alive.

Mother Nature has made herself a kind of Medea, with us as the children. This event is both dramatic and real. And, it’s our emotional relationship with nature that is at play here; an emotional relationship that includes fear.

In the piece at HEART, the idea is that with a modernist version of a wave/Tsunami in mind, to create a work that fulfils our aesthetic demands at the same time as underlining the quite monumental and deadly aspects of this relationship at the same time.

The collaboration with Egetæpper (Ege Carpets) has provided me with the opportunity to work with what is, for me, an unusual material. Working with new materials can be difficult, but the opportunity to work with a large company is always very interesting. After my first visit to the Egetæpper factories, I found myself quite excited about the fabrication process.

For a company like Egetæpper it must be very interesting to see their products used in a completely different way to that which would be considered normal. In this instance, Egetæpper’s products illustrate something frightening, and at the same time very natural and beautiful. In the piece, normal carpeting continues on from the floor, up a ramp, then the wall, where it becomes a wave threatening to engulf the viewer. The natural border between the floor and wall vanishes when one gazes into the wave. One challenge in this collaboration has been the colour gradation, as the process at the factory deals with specific colour scales that don’t necessarily equate with those in my head.

The final result is a piece that challenges viewers, allowing them to venture into the Tsunami itself until they can go no further.

I’ve been very satisfied with the process in creating this work.
And I am sure that it’s pleasing to the eye.