A copper band creates sculptures that constitute a permanent art intervention in the new courthouse in Malmö. Talad textil i ett sammanflätat system (Spoken textiles in an interwoven system) is the title of the work created by artists Bella Rune and Jonas Nobel.
The textile and the weave as a metaphor for the social fabric
In conjunction with the construction of a new courthouse in Malmö by Castellum Malmö Nyhamnen AB, artists Bella Rune and Jonas Nobel were commissioned to produce an artistic intervention for the building.
Designed by Henning Larsen Architects, the courthouse accommodates Malmö’s new District and Administrative Court as well as the Rent and Tenancy Tribunal. The building marks the court’s position and central function in society – an impartial and independent court of law is a requirement for a democratic society.
The building has a big footprint in the area closest to Malmö Central Station. The lower sections of the edifice have been built with sturdy brick and the top section is a superstructure of glass.
Bella Rune’s and Jonas Nobel’s artistic intervention consists of a wide copper band running under the ceiling, from the entrance and up through the building. It makes three stops on its way, where it creates wall-mounted sculptures. The band runs like a red thread through the warp of a loom and Rune and Nobel refer to the textile and the weave as a metaphor for the social fabric. They describe society as a weave of different units, individuals, rules, agreements and relations.
Copper with connections to craft, communication and the media
By copper, the material used by the artists, the artwork also makes connections to craft, communication, the media and historical events. Copper has a long history and has been used to make cookware, water pipes, electric cables and circuit boards. It has also been employed in printing and graphic art in order to print on paper and fabrics.
The three wall-mounted sculptures created by the copper as it winds its way through the courthouse appear to join together all these things. The first sculpture is in the form of something that could be interpreted as a printing press. The second sculpture is reminiscent of drain pipes or a wide water pipe, while the third is reminiscent of a weave. The artwork moves playfully and vigorously through the building, connecting spaces as well as the physicality and the quotidian with the more abstract weaves created by society’s central institutions.
Utrdagstext: A copper band creates sculptures and forms a permanent art intervention in the new courthouse in Malmö.
