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The sculpture "Fruen fra Havet" is an important element of the major culture project that gave the former Municipality of Sæby the title of "Municipality of Culture 2001 in the County of North Jutland". The sculpture's title, the lady of the sea, is a reference to the play written by Henrik Ibsen following a stay in Sæby in the summer of 1887. The sculpture, which is illuminated at night, is located at the harbour in Sæby.
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"Fruen fra Havet" is the work of the Norwegian artist Marit Benthe Norheim and is a double-sided figurehead in white concrete. More than 880 children from local municipal schools and nurseries have contributed to the sculpture with small symbols of protection embedded in the sculpture. The sculpture "Fruen fra Havet" is an important element of the major culture project "Mellem Himmel og Hav. Engle, havfruer og andre rejsende (Between Heaven and Earth. Angels, mermaids and other travellers)", which gave the former Municipality of Sæby the title of "Municipality of Culture 2001 in the County of North Jutland".
Beginning and endThe sculpture is a double-sided "Janus-figure", a mythological creature with two faces, which simultaneously symbolises beginning and end, past and present, departure and return. The figure thus has an outward-facing side with open eyes and an inward-looking, contemplative side with the ability to look both inwards and out at the world. The title of the sculpture, the lady of the sea, is a reference to the play written by Henrik Ibsen following a stay in Sæby in the summer of 1887. The main character's picture of herself as a mermaid washed up on the shore and her attraction to the sea, against the dark forces within and outside herself, is a crucial aspect of this strange double-sided sculpture.
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Washed up on Sæby StrandIn a story handed down through the generations, the Virgin Mary is depicted as a sort of lady of the sea. The story describes how the altarpiece on which the Virgin Mary is depicted as the queen of heaven was thrown overboard from a ship in distress and washed up on the beach at Sæby, where it was found by a blind man.
The frescoes in the old Carmelite monastery church illustrate the Virgin Mary during different periods of her life. On the centrally placed Judgement Day picture Mary is holding forth her exposed breast as a symbol of protection and mercy. She's also wearing a cape, under which she allows people to seek refuge.
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The children's contribution
In spring 2001 more than 880 children and young people from the schools and nurseries in the former Municipality of Sæby produced their own symbols of protection in ceramics and clay, which were then pressed down into sand moulds and cast in glass at Sæby Glaspusteri. There are thus a number of exciting figures that are embedded in the sculpture; some under the cape, some on the mermaid's body, almost like mermaid scales. From a distance, it's a mosaic, but from close up it's a piece of local history in which 880 children have produced their personal idea of a guardian angel.
Location The sculpture is located at the harbour, Sæby Havn, in a direct line of sight from the church, Sæby Kirke. When you arrive from the sea, you meet the open, outward-looking side, whilst the inward-looking and contemplative side faces towards the harbour and land.
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Execution
The form of the figure was initially cut out in polystyrene and covered by a stainless steel mesh, onto which the concrete was sprayed. A sustainable reinforcement was put into the polystyrene and attached to the concrete foundation. Finally, the artist modelled all the details directly into the concrete and embedded the children's glass and ceramic objects into the figure.
The sculpture is illuminated after darkness falls. |
Tuesday, February 08 2011
"Fruen fra Havet"6.25 metre high figurehead in white concrete with embedded ceramics and glass.
ArtistMarit Benthe Norheim, Mygdal, along with 880 children from the former Municipality of Sæby.
The sculpture also refers to the figure of the Virgin Mary, who has had a major influence on Sæby's self-perception.
During the late Middle Ages Sæby was called Mariested after the Carmelite monastery at the harbour which is consecrated to the Virgin Mary and also has the name Skt. Mariæ Kirke.
The "Mary with child" motif has been incorporated into Sæby's town arms since the 16th century.
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