Solar Egg

Project Details

Project Description

FROM THE ARTISTS:

Beginning of this spring, locals and visitors to Kiruna, were able to enjoy a unique sauna experience in the form of Solar Egg, an art installation inspired by the contrasting and dynamic surroundings of Kiruna’s iron ore fields.

Solar Egg is an oval sauna created by the internationally renowned artists Mats Bigert and Lars Bergström. It draws inspiration from Kiruna’s Arctic climate, where light conditions change with the seasons from 24-hour winter darkness to round-the-clock midsummer sun. The egg shape seeks to symbolize rebirth and new opportunities at the start of Kiruna’s urban transformation, a project that involves the relocation of entire city districts in response to ground subsidence caused by decades of iron ore mining.

Mathias Sandberg, sales and marketing director at Riksbyggen—a housing cooperative owned by its members— says: “As an urban developer, Riksbyggen takes an innovative approach to sustainability and long-term relations with local residents. We want the Solar Egg to be an artistic attraction for everyone and a conversation catalyst.”

Standing five meters high and four meters wide, the Solar Egg has a shell of gold-plated stainless steel that reflects the city and surrounding countryside. Consisting of 69 separate pieces, the installation can be taken down and moved to different locations within the city. Inside, heat is provided by a heart-shaped wood-fired burner.

“Saunas are places that fascinate. When Riksbyggen asked us to interpret Kiruna, we felt it was natural to explore a space that unites and encourages conversation,” say artists Mats Bigert and Lars Bergström. “Saunas are sacrosanct places where you can discuss all manner of things—from the big to the small.”

Riksbyggen wants to give Kiruna a unique natural and cultural experience that reflects the city’s location and puts people at the forefront. “Solar Egg captures Kiruna’s fantastic spirit and its sauna traditions,” says Mathias Sandberg. “It symbolizes the sun as catalyst for creativity, care, hope and togetherness.”

Bigert & Bergström have a longstanding fascination with humanity’s relationship to climate, nature, energy and technology. After gaining international prominence with their climate chamber designed for World Expo in Lisbon in 1998, they have worked across multiple artistic formats—from sculpture and film to performance. In 2015, Bigert & Bergström covered the peak of Sweden’s highest mountain, Kebnekaise, with an insulating coat to examine whether geo-engineering could help to slow glacial melting.

A special international stop is planned at the end of the year—Solar Egg will be installed temporarily at the Swedish Institute in Paris, Sweden's only cultural center abroad, in collaboration with Swedish Design Moves—a governmental initiative to promote Swedish design, architecture and fashion internationally.

This description has been lightly edited for clarity.