They’re Singing Hymns for the Fallen
(denna text är bara tillgänglig på engelska)
They’re singing hymns for the fallen reflects on how a single event suddenly can create chaos beyond comprehension, with the wildfire as the focal point. Through various techniques, Engstrøm plays with the idea of a changing landscape, where fragmented memories becomes testimonies to what once was and what is yet to come.
The work consists of three parts:
The sculpture consists of 12 columns with charred sides, forming two anamorphic images, that draw parallels to the deconstruction in relation to nature. One side shows a section of a burnt plantation, where the trees’ ghost-like figures almost takes human forms, as if their lives had been taken during a dance. The other side opens up for the idea of how it might have looked like when it happened, and how a future scenario might unfold. Both sides challenge the idea of a domesticated nature. How untamed forces such as a wildfire can change the power dynamics, and what this actually means in terms of how we perceive ourselves as a dominant species.
The poem is written on silk paper and lit up by flickering lights. Reflecting on being human and being transient. To let go of the idea of eternal power and relate to the fact that we are just a strand of hair of the earth’s vast lifespan.
Finally, a movie about the aftermath of a wildfire, where relics from both humans and nature stand as testimonies of something that once was. Accompanied by sounds of drones and winds, which is all the ears can detect.
De evige sletter
Jeg går på kviste af sand
til fugles kvidren fra sorte graner.
Stoiske og stolte svajer de i vinden,
og synger hymner for de faldne,
mens græsset sluger regnens sidste dråber
og gør sig klar til endnu en evighed.
På fjerne bakker høres ekkoer af brummende væsener
der skærer i ørerne som en hær af hvepse,
men ligeså brat som de kom, forsvinder de igen,
i gamle minder fra en svunden tid.
og glemte plantager dækkes til af blomster
som smiler mod solen med jakker af dug.
mens tæmmede sten har befriet sig selv
og spredt sig i landskabet som muldvarpeskud.
Her vil de stå langt efter min ende.
Felicia Engstrøm 2023
