Artist Hans E Madsen has created Øen (The Island) specially for Lillebaelt Academy’s new campus. The installation is placed in the public area in front of the Academy.
‘I am proud that the New Carlsberg Foundation has commissioned me to create this installation, and I hope that it will become a meeting place for students and local citizens,’ says the artist, Hans E Madsen.
Øen
The work consists of a public square in white concrete with three eleven-metre-tall masts in stainless steel, each supporting a circle made of sheets of coloured glass. Each circle has a diameter of almost eight metres. The glass formations throw coloured shadows on the surroundings, which vary dynamically over the course of the day and with the changing of the seasons. As one enters the installation, a new space opens up – a sheltered gathering place with seats.
‘Hans E Madsen’s works of art for the public space are always highly original. Consistently changing and challenging, and always with a solid and firmly anchored sense of the physical surroundings. At the New Carlsberg Foundation, we are delighted to secure yet another milestone in the beautification of Odense, and we are certain that Øen will be welcomed and embraced by students, staff and other users,’ says Karsten Ohrt, chairman of the board for the New Carlsberg Foundation.
At eye level with the students
Education at Lillebaelt Academy takes place in close collaboration with private companies with exposure to real-life work experiences is a fundamental principle. A key goal in the endeavour to integrate art at the new campus was to meet the students at eye level. Lillebaelt Academy aims to give the students the opportunity to experience high-quality works of art with an open and inviting appearance and a sensory appeal that make them accessible without requiring any further introduction or prior knowledge.
‘From the outset, we wanted to art to have a central place at our new campus, and we initiated this process at an early stage, when the building was still just a hole in the ground. In our daily life at the campus now, we enjoy a diverse range of artworks, several of them made specially for this site. Hans E Madsen’s amazing installation is the crowning touch,’ says Rector Jens Mejer Pedersen.
Art in the public real
In recent years, Hans E Madsen has created several large light installations in the public realm, including the Copenhagen Metro stations at Vibenshus Runddel and Gl. Strand, which are currently under construction, and, in 2014, a large light installation for the Court of Roskilde.
In 2016 the New Carlsberg Foundation donated the site-specific artwork Farver på mur (Colours on wall) to the art museum Bornholms Kunstmuseum. The artwork, which features Hans E Madsen’s characteristic use of coloured glass, is mounted on the museum’s south-facing facade. As the coloured glass captures the sunlight it creates a shadow play on the wall that once a day forms a shape representing the floor plan of the museum.
