This year’s theme, contemporary ceremonial wood sculpture, was derived from a Nordic wood-sculpture tradition.
The local region of Öland/Småland is rich in mediaeval church sculpture, and the finds from the salvaged 17th century warship
Kronan represent a cultural treasure of world renown. Here in the Nordic and Baltic rim area, we possess an enormously
rich cultural treasure in the form of our mediaeval wood sculptures and our timehonoured tradition of working in wood. Our present focus, however, is on contemporary expression in this field and the topicality of the material. The starting point is wood craft as a method and the transfer of tacit knowledge. The workshop theme also served as a basis for discussions about objects in our shared public space and the laboratory’s working method: testing without preconceptions. None of the objects were
“complete” after five days, but many ideas were tested and a number of sculptures suitable for outdoor placement were created.
Together we created a context in which you could query and test your way, an exploratory process where the participants interacted with the project’s vision. The basis was a shared curiosity and huge interest in wood as a material despite long experience of it. Important elements were questioning one’s own knowledge and skills, discovering fresh paths, and drawing inspiration. The uses and properties of the material from an aesthetic, practical and sustainability perspective were explored. Wood: a readily available building material in intimate contact, sustainable but not intended to last forever.
