Trolls and caves

I presented my proposal for Stavanger which mainly consists of knowing the site I am interested in and having a vague feeling about what I want to do there. This feeling comes partly from a rational logic relating to the space, it's history and observing its current use. But this feeling is also part intuitive, a gut instinct or attraction to the place. In response to my presentation, one of the local artists asked me why I had been drawn to a site which is so anonymous - a place which you could come across in any other part of the World. It was a good question. I think it is partly because this site is unresolved or problematic that makes it attractive to an artist. The point where the bridge meets the ground is that difficult place where the architects or engineers pen makes contact with reality. Virtuality meets actuality. There is bound to be tension at this point. Perhaps it is these qualities that gives the site its energy and potential. But there is perhaps something else - something drawn to my attention by some-one I bumped into in Stavanger during my last visit. She described the hidden space underneath the bridge as a cave for trolls - a creature said to symboise the Norwegian folk tradition. Perhaps this bridge space is void unwittingly carved from the Norwegian psyche. It was built with no particular purpose in mind and today has very little in it. The councils decision to close it off was more about trying to eliminate the potential for it to become a problem - a potential which seems to have affected the area around it which the council couldn't close off for reasons of access. perhaps it's no coincidence that the profile of the bridge with its impressive suspension beams and curved supports resembles that of a mountain.

I was reminded of Smithson's drawings of those ubiquitous urban 'public' spaces made inhospitable through the decision to introduce sharp, bumpy or angular elements denying the potential for otherwise sheltered 'public' spaces to be used by the homeless to sleep rough, or for 'youths' to play. Often you will see evidence of such people bringing along thier own furniture - cardboard, mattresses, cushions, even chairs to make these spaces more tolerable. (even in Norway)