Danish Design Gains a Prominent Place at the International Criminal Court in The Hague
A floating wooden sculpture will be a central focal point at the entrance to the new headquarters of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Danish artist Eske Rex has created a powerful, iconic work for the building designed by Schmidt, Hammer and Lassen Architects, which will be finished in December 2015.
When the new official seat for the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is opened to the public in December 2015, it will bear a distinctive Danish imprint – namely, an entirely new work by Eske Rex, which demonstrates how Danish design and architecture can merge on a human scale.
"My idea is to create a simple and powerful spatial concept with wood and light. The work’s transformation of the wood from straight lines to a circle creates a welcoming and warm experience in the building’s foyer, which otherwise consists of sharp lines in glass, steel, and stone. The symbolism builds on the ICC’s fundamental values and emphasises the primary axes of the architecture with two ”arms” reaching out and inviting one into a common, illuminated space ", says the artist Eske Rex about the work.
The Danish Arts Foundation appointed Eske Rex for the task.
”Danish design and architecture is in demand abroad. With this opportunity to donate a work for a distinctive Danish edifice in an international class of its own, we on the committee saw an obvious chance to show how Danish design and architecture can intertwine in a total experience for the user,” says the chairperson for the Danish Arts Foundation’s Committee for Crafts and Design Project Funding, Astrid Krogh, who elaborates:
”We appointed Eske Rex for the job because he works in an exciting cross-aesthetic field in which art, design, and architecture are naturally interwoven.”
The Embassy of Denmark in The Hague and the Danish Agency for Culture have facilitated contact with the International Criminal Court.
The Danish ambassador to the Netherlands Ole E. Moesby says:
”Denmark has always fully supported the International Criminal Court and its core values since the beginning. Therefore, we can be proud that Denmark is able to leave such a unique fingerprint on the physical framework of the Court, a framework that allows the institution to exude credibility, openness, and neutrality, which is crucial for witnesses, victims, and affected societies.”
Facts:
The Danish Arts Foundation’s Committee for Crafts and Design Project Funding appointed Eske Rex and financed the work in the amount of DKK 1.2 million. The Danish Embassy in The Hague and the Danish Agency for Culture facilitated contact with the International Criminal Court. The work will be installed at the International Criminal Court in November 2015. The new headquarters of the International Criminal Court was built by the architectural firm of Schmidt, Hammer, Lassen Architects. The building will be open for use in December 2015.
Read more about Eske Rex here
Read more about the Danish Arts Foundation here
Contact:
Inger Krog, special advisor, The Danish Agency for Culture, +45 3374 4530, ikr@kulturstyrelsen.dk
Sune Blicher, media advisor, The Danish Agency for Culture, +45 3379 4562, sub@kulturstyrelsen.dk
