Rogaland kunstsenter commissioned me to make a new site-specific work for
‘Stavanger 2008’. Following a series of visits to the city I decided to install a lighting system beneath Bybrua (City Road Bridge) in order to illuminate the dark pedestrian underpass leading from Johannes Park to Nedre Dalgate. The lights were powered by a small bank of 12v batteries, which had to be recharged daily by three different pedal powered generators – Bridgit, Jim and Pedro.
For a period of ten days these pedal powered generators toured various schools, streets, gymnasiums, parks, cafes, museums and cultural centers attempting to
gather and store human energy from those willing to gift it. By-passers were asked if they had a minute of their time to spare. One generator ‘Bridgit’ offered free bicycle transit across the bridge to pedestrians. At the end of each day the
various batteries were harvested and re-connected to the lighting system to power the lights during hours of darkness.
The aim of this project was to encourage community dialogue about alternative
energy and the urban environment. This debate had special significance in a
country with enormous oil wealth. The physical effort to keep the lighting system going attempted to revive the spirit of ‘Dognad’, where Norwegians would traditionally get together to make improvements in the local community for the common good. Such a word loses it’s meaning when translated into English since ‘Community Service’ in the UK is now understood to be a form of punishment.
To see Documentation of the three different pedal powered generators click here
To see the blog covering the entire process of the project click here
Bybrua by day
Bybrua by night before lighting system was installed
Lighting system installed
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Recruiting Gormley
Spreading the word