In the middle of an unexpected place – a petrol station parking lot in Henån on the Orust island – a unique artwork has emerged. Semaforen i Henån (The Semaphore in Henån), created by artist Ruben Wätte in close collaboration with the local youth, is more than just a sculpture. It is a vibrant meeting place that reflects both the EPA culture and the maritime environment as well as young people’s need for free space. Work is currently underway on the artwork, which will be inaugurated in the autumn of 2025.
The artwork, in the form of a kind of contemporary gazebo, or meeting place, constructed in wood with a sculptural light element at the top, is erected in a place that at first glance may seem unexpected: a simple petrol station parking lot, right next to the Selma’s Bridge with a view of the stream. This particular place, between the centre and the periphery, is of great importance to the local youth as an informal gathering place. In the evenings they gather here with their EPA cars and many young people pass by on their way to the youth recreation centre.
The concept for Semaforen i Henån has emerged from both the unique character of the place and the young people’s identity as islanders with a strong relationship to the sea and, not least, the EPA culture. Aesthetic and formal influences are drawn from both maritime traditions: navigation markers that guided seafarers, semaphores that signal at piers and the culture of the young people – including the triangular traffic sign that warns of slow-moving vehicles, which is associated with the EPA culture.
Semaforen i Henån is both a sculpture and a gathering place, a “hangout” with seats around a significant eye-catcher in the form of a compressed scrap car. The height of the work makes it visible from both the highway and the walkways around the stream. When the place is in use, an optical signal lights up at the top of the work. The work becomes a beacon for the young people’s community. When the light is on, we know that someone is there or has just been there. See us. We are here. Come here, you too, and we can hang out together. The fact that the young people themselves have the power to activate the place with the light signal, turns what is centre and periphery around. The inconspicuous place between the stream and the parking lot becomes something worth signalling about and inviting to.