FALLING APPLES
2014—
When Adam and Eve bit into the forbidden fruit (traditionally depicted as an apple) and were expelled from the Garden of Eden, humanity became self-aware—an awakening not unlike Lacan’s mirror stage, in which an infant observing its own reflection realizes that he or she is an individual. As our knowledge grows, so does our awareness, and our own self-image evolves as we discover more about the world. That transformation of self through knowledge is embodied in the sculpture Falling Apples—a piece of fallen fruit that reflects the world around it. The bites taken out of the apple create shiny impressions in which our image is twisted and turned upside down. Ecce Humor! Humanity here is viewed as a comic figure, relentlessly searching for enlightenment and truth in a world that is still, despite all our progress, at least partly enveloped in the shadows of ignorance. Rational ideas and scientific findings are denied, and the revolution that Isaac Newton initiated that day he sat under an apple tree is still in its infancy.
FALLING APPLES
Lugnets Skola Hammarby, 2014
The work is part of a larger public commission, consists of sculptural installations, from Stockholm Konst and SISAB for a primary school in Lugnet, Stockholm.
In the school’s central atrium and lightwell hang three giant apples in various stages of consumption. Where bites have been taken, the metal has been polished to a mirror that reflects an altered image of the viewer. The more bites there are, the more interpretations they present. The symbolism of the apple throughout history is rich, and its imaginary fall through the school’s stairwell gives rise to many questions about inquisitiveness and knowledge.
"Falling Apples," Lugnets Skola, Hammarby, 2014 Hammered stainless steel, partly mirror polished, various sizes
Process photos
Photos: Studio Bigert & Bergström
FALLING APPLES
HEGG SCHOOL LIER, NORWAY, 2015
The public commission for the Hegg school in Lier (Norway) consists of a group of hanging large apples made of stainless steel. Parts of the apples are polished to a mirror that reflects an altered image of the viewer. They are fixed mid-air in different stages of their fall, and on their way down through the central atrium of the school the apples looses more and more of their physicality. The apple on the floor is almost completely consumed as it is transformed into a social sculpture on which the visitors can sit down and relax.
The project is made in collaboration with the city of Lier and KORO Norway.
"Falling Apples," Hegg School, Lier, Norway, 2015 Hammered stainless steel, partly mirror polished, various sizes
Photos: Studio Bigert & Bergström
GENIEZEIT
Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, 2016
Outside the Department of Physics at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Bigert & Bergström deployed a large stainless steel funhouse mirror in the shape of an apple. The bites taken out of the apple create high polished reflective impressions in which the image of the visitor to the university is mirrored and twisted.
"Geniezeit," 2016 Stainless steel, 130 x 200 x 130 cm Photos: Ola Kjelbye
ECCE HUMOR
Artlover edition #5, 2016
In 2012, Artlover Magazine launched Artlover edition with the intention to present great art at a reasonable price. Artlover edition is done in close cooperation with Sweden’s most established artists such as Andreas Eriksson, Per B Sundberg, Lisa Jonasson, Carl Hammoud and Christine Ödlund just to mention a few. Artlover edition is produced with greatest care in detail and quality, always in small editions. Techniques vary from hand colored etchings to stone ware sculptures.
"Ecce Humor," Artlover edition #5, 2016 Hammered stainless steel, partly mirror polished
GENIEZEIT
Stockholm Design Lab Studio, 2018
"Applethought," 2019. Hammered stainless steel, partly mirror polished. Photos: Studio Bigert & Bergström
APPLETHOUGHT
Vivallakullen, Örebro, 2019
Applethought is a three-meter high and one and a half-meter wide stainless steel sculpture. Throughout history, the apple has symbolized love, fertility, enlightenment and, last but not least, health and knowledge. In this piece, each bite of the apple has created a funny mirror in which the visitor can view a distorted image of themselves, to see a constant self-transformation, like the life itself, from cradle to crave.
"Applethought," 2019 Hammered stainless steel, partly mirror polished
Production. Photos: Studio Bigert & Bergström
Apple of Knowledge
Boo Gård School, Nacka, 2021
Apple of Knowledge is a public art work by Bigert & Bergström. The piece was created for Boo Gård School, Nacka. The stainless steel sculpture is a sitting spot, a meeting place for students and teachers. The surface of the work is matted on one side, however the bites taken out of the apple is polished and reflective, is showing mirrored and distorted images of the kids and school personals. The humorous aspects are combined with the symbolic meaning of the apple, as a fruit of knowledge.
“Apple of Knowledge,” 2021 Stainless steel, 269 x 228 x 210 cm
