Lister

By Esben Bjerre Hansen
Translated by Signe Salling

If you get tired of the concerts, camping and nasty paths, then make your way down to the front of Orange Stage. Here AVDP has made a work of art that speaks to both mind and heart.

Multi-edged yellow brick

At a far distance it looks like a big toilet building, but if you come closer it is clear to see that the yellow plates made of artificial glass are somewhat nicer than most public buildings. The big round sculpture has four entries that leads to four different places. The only question is – where do they lead?
 
A lot of festival-goers glance at a distance. Then they see laughing people coming out and they pluck up their courage. One of the people who rose to the bait is 20 year old Cathrine.

”You have to have a look to see what it is, and it wasn’t bad to be able to see yourself in the mirror. She was, like many others, surprised by the optical illusion.

The sculpture is made like a mirrored tunnel. And seven year old Marcus agrees that it is not easy to figure out.

”It was great, but you thought that you would exit at the other end and then you didn’t”, he says.

Not just for show

The starting point for the work of art is, according to one of the master minds, Peter Døssing from the art co-operation AVDP, to create a displacement of where you originally were going.

”People are constantly on the move at a festival, and when they look through the tunnel, they think they will exit at the opposite side”.

But they do not. He has heard about people running straight into the artificial glass and split their eyebrow open. So you cannot deny that the illusion is perfect.

AVPD was originally invited by Roskilde Festival to participate in a competition about contemporary art and won with the project, ”Displacement Pavilion.”

You can see the sculpture on the lawn in front of Orange Stage.