Upplyst (Illuminated)

Along a footpath through Stadsparken, we find an unusually curved lamppost. It seems as if it’s sitting down on a block of granite. It has no arms, legs, eyes, nose or mouth – but doesn’t it still somehow look human? In the curved post, it’s not hard to see a slightly hunched back and bent legs. Funny how easy it is for us to see something alive in dead things!

The title of the work is Illuminated, paving the way for associations between lighting, reason, insight and spirituality. The artist’s name is Birgitta Muhr and she has previously worked with painting, video and sculpture, but has in recent years focused mostly on sculpture. Anthropomorphic objects recur in several of her public works. Up near Sundsvall, you can find her Stoldans (Chair Dance), and there are more of her lively lampposts in Stockholm and Karlskoga. There, they go by the names Ljushuvuden (The Lightheads) and Gatuliv (Street Life). These are her own thoughts on the sculpture here in Örebro:

It will radiate calmness where it sits and rests, takes a break, and watches the birds on the ground... Maybe it can also bring a few smiles through its human gestures.

The municipality had wanted to invest in a light artwork that could contribute to a safer park at night, and the lamppost’s old-fashioned design language can bring to mind the early gaslight lamps that once sprung up to dispel the darkness of cobblestone streets throughout Swedish cities. Perhaps the streetlamp makes you think of a portal to another time, another world? How do you experience this place?