Om børnene i den lille by "Nokios Elv"
AMAZING SKAGEN
All-around artist, writer, visual artist
Herring Universe
Art offers us a unique opportunity ...
... to get closer to ourselves and the world.
And it does so in countless ways.
Here, we use the simple device of letting the world unfold among herrings, adding a touch of humor to make everything go down a little more smoothly.
Seen from a distance
Often, situations and relationships become clearer when observed from a distance rather than being caught in the middle of them.
One way to approach things that are difficult to see—precisely because they are too close—is to let these situations unfold in an animal universe.
Feel free
Another advantage of placing interactions and dynamics among animals is that it allows for the expression of truths that might seem too harsh or inappropriate in human contexts.
Conventional boundaries and norms can be crossed and broken under the guise of it being “just animals”—who, by their very nature, don’t know any better.
This, in turn, allows us to feel superior and have a laugh at their expense.
​
Animals as Metaphors
There is nothing revolutionary about using animals as a mirror to reflect human relationships and social dynamics.
It has been done countless times before, yet it never goes out of fashion.
And one does not need to be familiar with George Orwell, La Fontaine, Aesop, H.C. Andersen, Hieronymus Bosch, Montaigne, or many others who have used this principle to appreciate the “dance of the herrings" with one another.
The “Herring Universe” is continuously evolving and,
as of early 2025, consists of 20 digital + word collages.
The works above contain Danish text but are, of course, also available with English text.
(The base images are created with DALL·E).