Poetic activism

THE TRONDHEIM ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS: Five wooden sculptures, 3.5 to 6 metres high, have been erected in Tømmerdalen, an area in Bymarka, Trondheim’s city forest. The sculptures bear the title of Pinus Silvetris2 and were created by Tore Reisch, a master’s student at the Fine Arts Academy.

The use of biotechnology and genetic engineering in nature are the basis for the themes in Reisch’s work. Multinational companies have great control over agriculture, and Reisch is critical of how these companies profit from nature for short-term gains.

Reisch finds the use of suicide genes and designer genes the most provocative, because these make farmers dependent on seed companies, and have the potential to destroy 10 000 years of agricultural adaptation to the local environment. These genes have also spread to wild plants, disturbing the natural course of evolution, and potentially threatening the diversity of plants and animals, Reisch claims.

Reisch’s sculptures are modelled in 3-D and are manufactured from lightweight, strong materials

such as divinycell, fibreglass, carbon fibre and epoxy, all of which can withstand the weather and stresses in nature’s own gallery in Bymarka.