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Valley Resources
2021
11 different materials/resources found on route
Walking Landscapes, Vejle - Metropolis 2021
Thomas Alvarez
Valley Resources was part of the projet Walking Landscapes by Metropolis. A 6 month project where artist hiked all over the country working the country while traveling through it
For 12 hours I hiked 25 km in a valley of my hometown. Doing this time, I created 11 seating spots in the landscape. Each one created in a new material available on route, the seats reflect on the cultural and natural heritage of the region, and the people who lives and have lived there.
Every hour a seating spot was created. A process which was filmed and streamed online during the walk.
Material:
Location:
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Story:
Sand
55.665572, 9.176489
Hands
The first stop was a sandy meadow. For centuries people living here battled the sand and the wind.
The western wind carried the sand from west to east for leaving a desert behind it. In producing the seat, I acted as the wind, pushing the sand from east to west.
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Potatoes
55.665762, 9.213000
Hands
In 1776 86 German families were invited to the region to grow potatoes. 6 years later only 12 was left. As a memory to these families the seat was created with 86 potatoes.
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Stone
55.664482 9.233669
Hands, brush and paint
The 3rd seat was created next to Hærvejen, the oldest road in Denmark. In the past stones would be placed on the side of the road indicating the distances of the road.
The seat was created as “Mile stone” indicating the distance I had hiked, and the distance I had left.
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Pine
55.659347, 9.255147
Saw, chord
For 100 years pine trees was planted in Vejle Ådal to stop the sand migrating further east. The pine trees here remind us of the resilience that was showed by the people living here.
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Earth
55.655106, 9.282961
Hands
Vejle Ådal is a so-called Tunnel valley, created doing the last ice age. The seat communicates this natural phenomenon. Created in the material which it shaped – the earth.
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Beach
55.664514, 9.315342
Saw, hammer, nails
In the 19th century the beach tree became a symbol of democracy and equality. The same values that the danish design scene was based on in the 20th century. The seat was created as a minimal and functional piece – the materialization of these core values.
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Oak
55.673845, 9.346601
Saw, hammer, nails
In 978 a 1 km long bridge was built across the valley; its foundation was 1800 pillars of local oak tree. The seat was created using the same building process - resting on 18 pillars of oak.
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Water
55.676404, 9.375888
Hands
For centuries the people of the valley have exploited the energy of the water, while also attempting to control it and disrupt it. The seat commemorates this disturbance humankind have inflicted on the natural flow of the water – and the pleasure of its presence.
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Driftwood
55.674361, 9.390026
Saw, hammer, nails
This seat was a reflection of the material in the lake. A lake that was used as a place of sacrifice. The seat was created with wood from the lake, afterwards the seat was sacrificed to the lake.
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Grass
55.682014, 9.400877
Body
Along the stream in the valley people have lived since the stone age. The first people who lived here, lived a simpler life. They worked less and left no long lasting mark on the landscape. This seat is a simple imprint of my body in the grass. An imprint that leaves only a faint, temporary mark in the landscape.
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Trash
55.695240, 9.413455
Hands
There was once a holy stream in the valley, that had healing powers, around it a rowdy market emerged – a bi-product. Booth manmade, both were shut down. The last seat is made by man with manmade materials, or to be more precise the bi-product: trash, found along my walk.
Full video documentation (in danish)
