Wood, flag, paint. Fence height 300 cm.
Barrikade was awarded a prize by the Danish Arts Foundation.

A high circular enclosure of black wooden planks has been erected in the centre of the site. It is not possible to see over the planks, which are too high, and no door is visible. Behind the planks stands a flagpole with a black flag, a perhaps faint echo of the Danish national flag. On closer examination, it is obvious that the wooden fence is not completely closed. There are holes or embrasures in some of the planks, so that one can look through into the enclosed space that turns out to be a flowerbed with tulips and roses. In its entirety, the sculpture is reminiscent of the kind of pirate stronghold one can see in a children’s playground. The formal sense of confrontation is constantly balanced in relation to the effect created by the sculpture of a mysterious stage set or model.
The fortification of the flower beds and the flag pole with all its associations and symbolic references to Danishness, national feelings and suburban propriety may at first provoke a political interpretation. The work can be connected to the recent intense political debates about the defence of national values in the face of foreign immigration. In this context, the work provides an opportunity to experience what it is like to be on the wrong side. On the other hand, this interpretation does not explain why this structure should resemble a pirate stronghold. Neither does it explain the fact that the top of the fence ends in a pattern of gables imitative of the gables of the country house in the background.
These and other aspects of the work indicate that the problem of exclusion and inclusion is broader and more ambiguous and that it is not confined to a single context but, on the contrary, must be considered at several levels, from sandbox to parliament.
The project is generously supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.

Included in the group show Pastiche at Sølyst Castle, Jyderup, Denmark.

Photo: Torben Steen Andersen + Hesselholdt & Mejlvang.