N A T I O N B U I L D I N G

Unrealised site-specific project, Geiranger

NATIONBUILDING is a large-scale sculptural project conceived for Geiranger, Norway—one of the most iconic landscapes in the global imagination of “Norway.” The work examines how national identity is constructed, staged, and exported through landscape, architecture, and tourism, and how this process oscillates between the ordinary and the monumental, the democratic and the elitist.

The proposed sculpture consists of a massive cubic structure assembled from standard Norwegian steel scaffolding modules. Measuring approximately 40 × 40 × 40 meters, the structure resembles a monumental, transparent “castle” positioned high above the Geiranger Fjord on Korsmyra. Each steel tube is gold-plated with 24-carat gold, transforming a utilitarian construction system into a reflective surface that captures the shifting alpine light throughout the day.

Gold functions here both materially and symbolically: as a reference to value, power, and historical framing, but also as a metaphor for Norway’s rapid transformation from a poor rural society into one of the world’s wealthiest nations following the discovery of oil. The work draws a parallel between national romantic painting—often presented in gilded frames—and the contemporary branding of Norway as an untouched, spectacular natural paradise.

NATIONBUILDING stages a tension between Norway and Norge: between the outward-facing image produced for global consumption and the inward-facing, lived reality of a modern, urbanized society. The monumental scale and golden surface suggest exclusivity and grandeur, while the use of ordinary scaffolding underscores a fundamentally non-heroic, temporary, and replaceable structure.

Designed to leave no permanent marks on the landscape, the structure is self-supporting and reversible, aligning with the constraints of a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its transparency allows the landscape to remain visible through the sculpture, framing nature rather than dominating it.

Although the project has not been realised in its intended site, NATIONBUILDING has been presented in gallery contexts through models, drawings, and visualisations. As an unrealised work, it remains an open proposition—a reflection on how nations are built not only through politics and economics, but through images, myths, and carefully curated views.