ART IN NORRA LÄNKEN One of Sweden’s biggest art projects is found in a 5 km tunnel system that links together several traffic routes north of Stockholm, ”Norra Länken”. The design concept has been developed in collaboration between architects and artists, with inspiration from Stockholm’s nature and the Swedish seasons. Five of the junctions in the tunnel have been chosen for placement of artworks that create a break in the monotonous tunnel environment and increase traffic safety. They also make it easier for drivers to orient themselves. Using installations, coloured light, photos and video, each art site is like a stage set that appears as you pass by.
REEDS The roof is bathed in yellow-green light and the walls are adorned with pictures of marshlands and reeds. The carriageways are separated by hundreds of stylised reeds of PVC with translucent tips that capture the light and shimmer.
WATER The roof is illuminated with blue-white light and the walls are lined with photos of water. Water movements are shown on a LED screen between the carriageways.
WOODS The roof and walls feature autumn colours and pictures of trees flank the roadside. A large oak of corten steel reaches towards the roof.
MEADOW Large butterflies flutter under the tunnel roof, high above the carriageways. The materials are stainless steel and concrete and the butterflies get their hues from coloured light.
WINTER The roof is dark, with small points of light like snowflakes in the night. This winter landscape contains a large snow globe on which a freezer unit that extracts heat from water seepage forms a layer of hoarfrost that sparkles in the floodlights. Successive frost formation creates an unexpected chalk white surface in the otherwise rugged road environment.
