Based on my research in the small town of Bjerringbro, placed right on the banks of the largest river in Denmark, Gudenaaen, I have tried to find the DNA of the town.
Bjerringbro is well placed by the Gudenaa, and people have been living here far back in history, which we know from very important findings from the Viking Age. (the Mammen axe ) from a rich Viking grave at Mammen.
The city began to flourish when a miller decided to built a bridge across the river, to make it easier for the farmers to get access to the mill.
Later, Poul Due created a worldwide company based on his water pump inventions, and Grundfos has for decades dominated the area, creating hundreds of jobs and still has it’s headquater in Bjerringbro, where it was founded.
The DNA may perhaps be summed up in the words: the water, the trade men and the inventor.
The sculpture is created from the idea of a carousel (which one could probably experience it at the merchant markets in the city in the past) a water wheel and a water pump.
The six wings in the sculpture consist of slats, which with different artistic methods, (painting, wood carving, grinding, drill holes) have been designed, so that when you move around the sculpture, one will observe different expressions and images.
The two main motives, a technical drawing of a pump and inspiration from The Mammen axe, are besides being representatives of Bjerringbro, also symbols which, in their own way can be translated as diagrams or codes. The pump: a code from the physical world and the decoration of the axe: a code from the spiritual world.
The six wings have a different number of slats but the overall expression give the impression of a foreign element placed in nature in the river bank, a machine shape. Contrary to the sun, which light and heat creates the rythm of nature’s movement, the sculpture resonates with something mechanical and regular.
The Sun Wheel has been created for the “Livets Vand” Project and can be seen on location i Bjerringbro, Jutland from June 3rd. – June 16th. 2019