As part of the preparations for Gothenburg’s 400th anniversary in 2021 a number of Land Art installations have been created around Gothenburg by artists from Sweden and abroad. Land Art highlights green spaces in the city, creates meeting places in the districts, and is intended to make the city greener and grander – as requested by the residents of Gothenburg to mark the anniversary.

In 2017, the focus of anniversary preparations has been the city’s wide range of parks, gardens and green spaces, and a new green initiative has got under way, including the seven Land Art installations that have now been completed.

“Each district was asked to choose a site that they felt needed a little more care and attention with the help of a Land Art installation,” says Cecilia Liljedahl, project manager for Land Art at Göteborg & Co.

From yellow tower to lily garden
Land Art is a form of art that uses natural materials to create installations that are inspired by the landscape and environment in which they stand. This art can take many different forms. It can range from Jens Thoms Ivarsson’s 12-metre-high yellow lookout tower, entitled “Nuet” (the Present), in Skogome – to Tage Andersen’s “Liljegården” (Lily Garden) outside Kåken arts centre in Härlanda. Tage’s pot-bellied pigs are helping out here by turning over and pre-cultivating the soil, and in summer 2018 his installation should be in bloom.

The one thing these art works do have in common is that they are accessible to the public and are part of the environment around them, whether they are surrounded by trees or at an old prison farm.

Seven installations created this year
In addition to this pair, there are now five other Land Art installations ready to discover. They are Svanbon (Swans’ Nests) by Gunilla Bandolin, in Torsviken in Torslanda; Touchstones by Monika Gora, in the Lärjeån valley in Angered; Hjärtats väg (Way of the heart) by Helle Nebelong, in Positivparken in Frölunda; and The Golden Tree by Tetsunori Kawana, in Bergkristallparken in Tynnered.

During Gothenburg Green World 2016, Land Art installations were also created in Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Mölndal City Park and Gunnebo House and Gardens. Read more at  goteborg2021.com/landart/