(Earth Drawing) Norrbykatten (Norrby Cat)

Artist Jenny Berntsson has, in cooperation with Year 2 pupils at Norrbyskolan, created a work of art on the lawn of the adjacent Norrbyparken. Up close, the work looks like a stone-paved path winding its way across the lawn in large curves. What do you feel like doing when you see this artwork?

One of the goals of the art commission was for the children to be co-creators in the work of art. Berntsson held several workshops with the children in which they explored the site, sketched, painted and played together. The work was created based on these encounters between the artist, children and site.

The stones form a running track linking together the new playgrounds that have been constructed in the park. Anyone flying over the park sees that the lines form a cat head, depicted straight-on from the front. Such a creation can be called a geoglyph.

Berntsson helped acquaint the children with different types of geoglyphs and land art, i.e. art made in the landscape. Among other things, they talked about the mysterious Naxca lines in Peru: long lines and geometric figures that together form large images of animals and plants, which were drawn in the rocky desert 1500–2500 years ago.

The idea for a geoglyph on the site in the park in Örebro came from the artist herself, and the cat motif was drawn and voted on by the children.

The artwork was commissioned by the Municipality of Örebro and Public Arts Agency Sweden. The Municipality of Örebro works to create more varied play environments in Örebro, and collaborates with Public Arts Agency Sweden to explore opportunities for children and young people to help co-create these environments.

If you would like to see another artwork that children and young people helped create, check out Ruben Wätte’s Redet in Varbergaskogen, which is part of the same initiative.