Thorsten Goldberg, 60°N 05°E (2012)
Date uploaded: July 9, 2012
Thorsten Goldberg, 60°N 05°E (2012). Bergen (Norway)
A rectangular, polished stainless steel panel measuring 416m² covers the stony shore of an inner city fjord with a small island. The panel is exactly aligned according to the earth’s coordinate system and relates to the area between 60°22'52.55"N 60°22'51.8"N and 05°20'01.24"E 05°20'02.32"E. Put together from around 800 individual triangles, it perfectly adapts to the topography of the ground by following the contours of the shore. The panel stretches from the pavement, which is near the shore and into which the shapes of the metal triangles are set flush with the surface, down to the sea. Depending on the tide, the panel is partially immersed in water. The multifaceted reflecting surface is pierced with a hole pattern which becomes a wave-like structure overlaying the crystalline grid of the surface. LED modules mounted underneath send slowly pulsating light through the perforation.
60°N05°E copies and transforms the landscape at the same time. The light impulse which illuminates the perforation of the individual triangles overlays the technoid surface with a gentle wave movement, causing the crystalline structure to appear to be in motion: a silvery cloth covering the landscape which seems to hover because of the slowly growing and fading light. The work merges a variety of realities: on the one hand the large panel reflects the sky and the surrounding area which are captured on its surface, on the other hand the original shore of the fjord is hidden from the observer’s view.
This artwork was inaugurated on June 15th.
Commissioned by The City of Bergen; Hordaland County and KORO (Public Art Norway).
The Herbert-Gerisch Foundation in Neumünster/Germany is organising the first comprehensive show devoted to this artist which will run from July 15th. The exhibition is touring in 2013 to additional exhibition venues (Laznia - Center for Contemporary Art, Gdansk and Städtische Galerie Viersen), and will be accompanied by an extensive catalog titled ‘54°14min’, published by DISTANZ Verlag.
