ARTSCAPE NORDLAND
35 pieces of art from 18 artist over 4 mio hectare
Skulpturlandskap / Artscape Nordland
In a northern part of Norway, mainly in the province of Nordland, between Brønnøysund in the south and the very northern tip of the Vesterålen, Andsnes, you will find the Artscape Nordland. Mainly in the years between 1992 and 1998, 33 pieces of art were created by 18 national and international artists and placed into the landscape, partly harmonising, partly contrasting the surrounding environment, but always interacting with it.
The Artscape covers an area as big as 4 mio hectares, including the mainland, numerous islands and some far out in the sea. While they are accessible rather easily, the spread will make it impossible to visit them all in one go. But by looking for them and visiting them, you will get much closer to the history and landscape of Nordland than you probably would otherwise.
This "art gallery without walls" creates its own space as the project puts it and it is absolutely right: An otherwise lonely beach somewhere in the north-west of the Vesterålen becomes something else when there is an art sculpture in the form of a stone head occupying a little space. Or when a glass constructions not only reflects the already dramatic landscape but emphasise its even more, essentially distorts it.
So far, we have visited only a few of the art pieces, but eventually we will see them all. Some of them are to be enjoyed from the distance, such as the "Havmann" as they stand in the water or on small rocky islands but still.
