About
Down a pleasant pathway and cross the road from Sygard Grytting, you will find an extraordinary collection of 21 tall, extremely narrow bronze statues.
These were donated to the area, with the help of a Norwegian bank, DNB, and are the work of Gitte Daehlin (1956-2012). Each striking sculpture appears to be growing straight out of the ground, and is a unique work of art – similar, yet very different. Part animal, part human, they are typical of Gitte Daehlin’s distictive work, with each of her figures having glass eyes, which seem to be alive. The figures all have unique features, markings and expressions.
Overlooking the Gudbrandsdalslagen River, they were erected in 2011 and are part of Skulptur-Stopp, a cultural organisation, which has several sites throughout Norway where sculptures are on display.
A Norwegian artist who lived in Mexico, close to the border with Guatemala, Daehlin used organic materials such as boiled palm leaves combined with glue, paper and chalk to create her highly original works. A sculptor, artist and textile specialist, she lived sporadically in Mexico from 1977 until her death. She attributed her inspiration to use organic materials to the native Indians of her adopted homeland, many of whom also inspired the faces of her sculptures. Her work is also on display at the Lillehammer Art Museum. Gitte Daehlin passed away 2 December, 2012 aged 56.