In the month of May 2023 I was invited by Maren Pilegård Andersen from the Vejle City Council to apply to a climate art project. I was accepted along with another two artists to produce climate artworks for the Climate Vilage Vandel. They are in the process of building a new forest park and would love to include climate artworks to celebrate the end of their 3 year long prize for being the most climate friendly village in the Vejle Kommune.
I started this project in July 2023 with doing research on climate issues and building a small climate book collection. I hoped some of these books could spark interesting conversations with Vejle and Vandel citizens in Denmark that would inform my direction for the climate art sculptures in the concepting phase. That phase took the form of a "pop-up studio" approach exhibition in the Vejle Library during August 2023 where Vejle citizens visiting the Library would have the opportunity to see the artist sketching out concepts live but also engage in conversations about climate issues. You can see a video interview and artist talk about this phase below.
"Olaf Bangsen - Fuglefoder" - the first climate artwork we produced that started with recycling the wooden box of an vintage Bang & Olufsen radio into a bird feeder that can be filled with sunflower seeds. The little door by the side can be opened to pour more seeds in when is needed. That brings an interactive element to the sculpture where a playful interaction from the public (kids and adults of all ages) makes the maintenance of this piece more pleasant and exciting. So this is a multifunctional piece: 1) Aesthetics - it's a toy like sculpture / 2) Biodiversity Support - it's also a bird feeder (fuglefoder) / 3) Interactivity - it's also playfully interactive 4) Sustainability - it's also produced with natural, recycled and ecological materials (for example the waterproofing is done with burning and water-based Swedish wax) / the assembly of the sculpture (except the radio box where metal screws had to be used) is done using traditional woodworking techniques using wood nails and eco-friendly glue.
"Bjorn - Fuglerette" - the second climate artwork we produced that started with the wooden box of an artificial bird nest. That was build to the standards informed by the technical consultancy from my father, Gabriel Benescu. The specific size of the box, the size and accurate placing of the entry hole are to the standard "Type B" that can accommodate a lot of small birds. My lovely wife Cristina Benescu also helped with mounting instructions for the box and the first page lists all the birds this product can serve. This one also is a multifunctional piece: 1) Aesthetics - it's a toy like sculpture / 2) Biodiversity Support - it's also an artificial bird nest (fuglerette) / 3) Interactivity - it's also playfully interactive 4) Sustainability - it's also produced with natural, recycled and ecological materials (for example the waterproofing is done with burning and water-based Swedish wax) / the assembly of the sculpture (except the screws for the door and the metallic hooks for mounting) is done using traditional woodworking techniques using wood nails and eco-friendly glue.
Concept sketch for an insect hotel sculpture. Here you can see a more playful approach to insect hotel a fully sculpted creature instead of a simple box with nesting material.
