LOVE NORWAY X - MINNEAPOLIS

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Love Norway X

2014 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Norwegian constitution.

I have been invited by the Royal Norwegian Consulate in Minneapolis together with the American Swedish Institute to create an installation to celebrate this occasion and to illustrate the principles that it embodies. I plan to do this in the form of a sculptural relief using the shape and proportions of the Norwegian National flag in its construction.

The community of Hatlestrand in Kvinnherad, Norway, will be working with me to build this piece, using techniques that we have developed together in the production of past exhibits. By working in close co operation with local craftsmen, who have found new ways to use readily available materials, some traditional and others high tech.

This piece is to be constructed using quotations, words, sentences, symbols and patterns, both ancient and modern, that reflect mankind's continued hopes and wishes to create the best of all possible Worlds. For aesthetic purposes I have included arcane pre-calligraphic lettering and motifs. These engraved geometric shapes, comprised of simple angles, are to be found across most ages and cultures. In combination their lines form a 'tapestry' illustrating a common message that transcends language.

For historic and cultural purposes I have chosen runes found in Norway, kufic text from Arabia, horyig seal script from Tibet, and i ching hexagrams from China. These methods of writing have crossed over at various points in time : runic graffiti is to be found in the Church of Hagai Sophia in Constantinople, kufic text is to be found on silver coins in Viking graves and oriental seals and symbols are distributed all along the trades routes used by Vikings , Arabs and Mongol tribes alike, connecting Northern Europe to the Far East.
While this piece of contemporary art celebrates the foundation of the Norwegian constitution and demonstrates the skill and ingenuity of Norwegians, it also recognises that in different ways and at different times we have all been searching for the same thing, no matter where or when we have been living. Just one way this is illustrated is the use of an 'X' in the title of the exhibit : a letter that is simultaneously the ancient runic symbol for gift, a contemporary symbol for a kiss and the traditional way in which any person anywhere is able to make a choice, cast a vote or even sign their name. The notion of 'love' is more complex. It is eternal yet entirely subjective, universally acknowledged but interpreted in very different ways.
I aim to avoid the sentimental, once size fits all, ego based love found in our current consumer culture and emphasise instead the much older and more collective qualities of compassion, mutual acceptance and spiritual love.

Interestingly, whilst in the English culture it has become common practice to finish most personal correspondence with the word ' 'love ', in Norwegian it remains difficult to use that single word without issuing a more serious imperative - 'to love' . Thus the phrase ' Love Norway ' contains an instruction to do so, an entirely appropriate attitude for those whose task was the construction of that Country's constitution.