Sculpture with the word UTREISEFRIST made of purple candles
For my master’s graduation project from KHIO, I have presented among others, a sculpture made of candles; the sculpture has the shape of the word UTREISEFRIST.
UTREISEFRIST means departure date, when asylum seekers get a rejection from the UDI they also get a departure date to leave Norway back to their homeland. At this stage of their life they belong nowhere, have no rights anywhere, and no nation or land wants them: they are truly stateless.
Why purple color:
In most Western countries, advent refers to the holy season of the Christian church, which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. The four Sundays of Advent are often celebrated with Advent wreaths decorated with four purple candles. The word and the color of the candle reflect the sense of temporariness, the suspension, and emptiness of time, of waiting in the refugees’ lives.
It would be a great opportunity to present this piece in a place like CarlBernes T-Bane as many different people pass from such a place every day. This word will mean different things to different people according to their background and experience in life. I am very much interested in the reaction of the people who will see this word in such a public space.
