Tempo (Samspel)

Public Art Installation

Husnes, Norway 
Client: Sør-Norge Aluminium AS

LEADinc was selected by an aluminum refinery plant, Sør-Norge Aluminiu, to design and install an artwork in the middle of a roundabout marking the connection between the factory and its community. Although privately funded, the outcome was to be a gift to the community as a symbol of a symbiotic relationship between this industry, natural and human recourses. Focusing on ideas regarding: industry, technology, materiality, natural/built environments, context, and motion, we looked into contemporary basket weaving and Marcel Duchamp for inspiration.

Our intrigue with basket weaving is related to the notion that the art and the craft are not discernible in the origins of this ancient art form. Our interest in Duchamp’s work and in specific “Nude Descending a Staircase” was rooted in the dynamic point of perception at the turnabout. The point of perception revolves around the center of the turnabout. Our approach to public art is rooted in our architectural work. All work of art is public to some extent but for an artwork, located in public place, to achieve status of public art, there needs to be an active relationship between the work and its public.

We set to design a light-tech structure that is both engaged and engaging. The outcome engages the diurnal and seasonal changes while engaging the cultural life of the community. It is meant to bring pride and energy to the place. More than thirty individuals from the local community were involved with the construction and installation of the work. A truly international collaboration, this relatively small project relied on the expertise from more than fifty individuals from four countries.