Intertidal Shelter I

2019 · LIAF / Kelp Congress, Svolvær · with Trond Ansten / Devil’s Apron · NNKS commission

Sculptural garden in the intertidal zone outside the former Lofotposten building at Lofoten International Art Festival 2019. With Trond Ansten as Devil’s Apron, Grundvåg placed carved wooden logs, speculative homes for tidal belt life, inspired by traditional yeast log architecture, into the shallow harbour water.

Part I rose at low tide on 31 August through a performative installation. Part II unfolded during The Kelp Congress (20 to 22 September) as a kelp SPA and sculptural intervention beside the same shore. The work asks whether an intimate meeting between humans and shallow water life can be facilitated, stepping back from industrial seaweed discourse toward getting to know the algae.

Commission for LIAF 2019 / North Norwegian Art Centre. Wooden logs from this work later appeared indoors with Intertidal Shelter III at Bergen Kunsthall’s The Ocean (2021).

Photographs: Devil’s Apron / Trond Ansten documentation.

Carved wooden logs in Svolvær harbour, Intertidal Shelter I, LIAF 2019

Perforated wooden logs standing in rippled harbour water

Detail of carved log forms against the rocky shoreline

Wide view of the intertidal garden toward the breakwater

Kelp SPA performance during The Kelp Congress, Intertidal Shelter II, 2019