Bjørn Nørgaard's Stone House has its formal roots in church and temple architecture. Its shape resembles that of Norwegian 'stave churches' from the early Middle Ages, but also bears references to the sacral architecture of other cultures. The stave churches were made of wood, but here the local granite has been used. The structure has been aligned in the landscape in traditional church manner, i.e. in an East-West direction.
Despite its resemblance to a church, the building is nevertheless a picture of a church or a temple, even if it echoes certain symbolic models from church architectures, and despite the fact that the viewer is given not only a visual experience, but can also enter physically into the protective space created by the sculpture and its stone walls.
The interior walls of the sculpture are covered with drawings. Nørgaard himself has said that the figures drawn on the southern wall live in the building while those depicted on the northern wall are homeless, restless souls.
The heart of the sculpture seems to be its interior space, which provides us with an opportunity for a quiet moment of contemplation, a time when we can weave our own narratives into a larger time tapestry.
Facts:
- Completed 1995
- Granite
- Height 550 cm
availability:
The sculpture is located at Evenestangen, 1 km from Evenes Airport towards Narvik. Take the Evenes church against Lilandsgrunnen, ca. 2km.
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