The Sixth Chimney

The Sixth Chimney is part of a group of ten chimneys by Swedish artist Jan Svenungsson. In 1992, the first of the series was built in Stockholm. Currently, the tenth chimney still only exists as a fragment in Uppsala. Each of the sculptures is one meter higher than the previous one. They all exist entirely independently of their surroundings. In turn, their contrasting surroundings give them a surreal character. The viewer suddenly seems to be in a surrealist or futurist painting, such as a work by De Chirico, for example.
For his work in the Skulptur-Biennale Münsterland 2001, the artist sought out a location outside of the cities and towns, selecting a meadow at the edge of the woods near Hembergen. There, it takes on the appearance of a relic from a forgotten industrial culture and serves as a monument to it.
Without any actual function, the chimney becomes a vertical landmark in the otherwise flat countryside, corresponding only to the trees in the background. Jan Svenungsson’s work offers an open field of interpretation. It begs for a non-functional aesthetic of art that shapes exterior spaces while evoking inner spaces of imagination.

Additional information: www.kreis-steinfurt.de/skulptur-biennale
Further reading:
Catalogue: skulptur biennale münsterland 2001, Eds.: Kreis Steinfurt, the District Administrator, Christoph Tannert, Vice Versa Verlag, 2001