There are few things as difficult as creating a memorial to a national trauma in the recent past. The terrorist attacks in the government quarter and on Utøya are still an open wound in the Norwegian consciousness. A monument dedicated to this must serve as a consolation to those directly affected. But it must also have something to say to people in a hundred years, when what happened is only part of Norwegian history. When there is no one left who remembers neither the explosion in central Oslo nor the horrific massacre on Utøya. The memorial site has been given a great location down by the water’s edge where the Utøya ferry M / S Torbjørn docks. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news All the pillars are just as high, long and wide. One could have emphasized the diversity among the victims by creating a somewhat greater variation in form in the expression. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news The sunlight is used in a nice way in the design of the monument. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news The infrastructure takes up too much space and steals focus from the flimsy monument. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news Overview picture from the press screening on the opening day. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news Overview picture from developer Statsbygg. Photo: Statsbygg Brutal image Just such a symbolic expression won the competition for this difficult honorable assignment in 2014. The Swedish artist Jonas Dahlberg created his «Memory Wound» as a cut in the landscape. It was a brutal image of the deep wound July 22 represents in our collective memory. After upsetting conflicts, the project was unfortunately shelved in 2017. However, the conflict did not subside for that reason. Also around the memorial site that has now finally come into place, the waves of debate have gone high. Although this time one would create a low-key and dignified memorial to accommodate the local community. It may seem that the idea of giving the project an art touch was abandoned. The responsibility was transferred from KORO (the Agency for Art in Public Spaces) to Statsbygg and from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Local Government and Modernization. And the memory installation unfortunately clearly bears more mark of this. It has become a product of engineering rather than imagination. FORM SYMBOLICS: The S-shape, or the crooked question mark, is designed to show the position of the sun during terrorist attacks. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news Quiet dignity The memorial site was designed by the Norwegian architectural firm Manthey Kula. The concept is simple. It consists of one staircase and 77 high, twisted bronze columns, one for each of the dead. Each of the columns is three meters high and forms something reminiscent of a fence. It meanders in a 26 meter long shape that resembles a distorted S, or a shaft question mark. The two large arches in the row of columns supposedly symbolize the position of the sun: one when the bomb went off, and the other while the shooting was going on. There is nothing ugly or unsightly about the installation. The twisted pillars capture the light in a nice way, and on the stairs that go down to the monument, the beautiful play of shadows occurs. You also get the experience of good, solid materials. BEAUTY IN THE SHADOWS: The twisted bronze columns capture the light in a nice way, and create a beautiful play of shadows. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news Not very exciting I still do not think the memorial is exciting. It is a little strange that they have chosen to make the pillars exactly the same, when the idea is that they should represent the individual individuals who passed away. The height is the same, and even the small twist is located in the same place on each pillar. NOTHING: Today we can fill the monument with all the strong feelings of shock, sadness and loss that are still associated with July 22nd. The question is what the monument has to say to future generations. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news Perhaps it is intended as a symbol of equality. But even though those killed were just as valuable, they were not as tall, broad, or had the same personality. There were people of different ages, orientations, origins, and with different genders. Without being too figurative, one could have emphasized this diversity by creating a somewhat greater variation in form in the expression. As it is now, it simply becomes rather monotonous and boring. Associations to a construction site The design language also gives some rather unfortunate associations to a construction site. From a distance, it can be reminiscent of formwork tables for something that is about to be built, but which is not yet finished. The infrastructure dominates the memorial site tremendously. The slender row of columns drowns in the driveway and parking lot. Fortunately, they have planted a lot of large trees around the installation. This softens the inhospitable concrete wall that goes up towards the road. CONSTRUCTION SITE: From a distance, the columns look like formwork tables. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news Silent expression I experience the monument as a sad compromise. Of course, I do not want a kind of figurative, realistic memorial with narrative sculptures about the cruel thing that happened, but this has become an overly abstract and silent expression. The solar positions are a very theoretical form of symbolism. It is not something you immediately understand by looking at the expression itself, but something you have to read to. Perhaps the sea of emotions associated with the terror that is still alive in time can fill this flimsy expression on Utøykaia with a content. Future generations had deserved something more expressive and eloquent. news reviewer Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news What: The national memorial site after 22 July 2011 Where: Utøykaia in Hole municipality, Viken Client: Statsbygg Architects: Manthey Kula Unveiled: 18 June 2022
ttn-69
July 22 memorial site on Utøykaia – Reviews and recommendations
