International Wood Sculpture Symposium 2012

For the 20th time an association on the west coast of Jutland is organising a Wood Sculpture Symposium in Højer and for the first time this year they are bringing the event to Sønderborg the week after.

Artists apply with sketches of the sculpture they intend to make and based on these applications 15 artists are selected and invited to take part in the symposium.

This is a truly international event as you can see from the list of participants in this year’s event:

Each artist is given a big block of oak tree measuring 60 cm by 160 cm and then they have a week to turn it into a sculpture. Here’s the description of the tree from the Symposium’s website:

The oak trunks, which will be put at the participants’ disposal, were planted at the beginning of 1800 and have various names according to where they have been growing. Here in Southern Jutland (Sønderjylland) we call them bridal domes or fleet oaks. – It happened to be so that at that time Denmark was at war with the English fleet, which had gradually burnt down the whole Danish naval fleet. In order to secure enough tree for shipbuilding in the future, the Danish king ordered that all young men, who were to be married, had to plant four oak trees and four beech trees and attend them until they were strong enough to grow by themselves, thereafter he was permitted to get married.

The artists will be working outdoors in the area around Sønderborg Castle in the period June 18th – June 24th.

After the event 13 of the sculptures will be put up in public spaces. You can have a say in which public spaces they go up in. Sønderborg Ugeavis is organising a petition for ideas of where the sculptures should be placed.

While the artists work members of Midtals sports club will sell drinks and sausages on the pier and after the event the last two sculptures will be auctioned off and the profit will go to the sports club.

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