Hans Pauli Olsen: Mirror Image (1990-92)

Bronze, h. 400 cm. Gift from The Art Society of the Faroe Islands

There is something magical about reflections, not least in this sculpture. The beautiful pregnant woman is repeated on her head. We look up at the naked woman and can get really close to the reflection. We see how the artist has worked with the clay, with which he originally shaped the sculpture. The textured surface and the clear marks of his singers lend the sculpture life and personality. Hans Pauli Olsen regards a sculpture’s plinth as an important and integral part of a work. In this case, the plinth resembles a rock. But in a context such as this, we only see the reflection of the rock.

Hans Pauli Olsen: The Shadow (1987)

Bronze, h. 225 cm. Gift from The Art Society of the Faroe Islands

The title The Shadow is puzzling. How can something so intangible be objectified in a sculpture? A person is sitting, huddled up, beneath a large, vertical surface. The surface resembles a mountain, and on the mountainside stands a small person. Notice how the artist works with spatiality and dimensions. While both people are three-dimensional, the flat shadow is two-dimensional. When the sun is shining, you may see the mountain casting a shadow on the grass. So, the question is: Where does the artwork end?

Hans Pauli Olsen: The Fall (1987-88)

Bronze, h. 600 cm. Gift from The Art Society of the Faroe Islands

A tiny man stands at the very top of a pinprick-like mountain peak, about six metres above the ground. The man is getting ready to jump – he is bending his knees and stretching one arm forward, but covering his eyes with the other. At the bottom of the sculpture we see an imprint of a full-size body, its arms stretched out to the sides. It is an impression of the artist himself. Could it be the same man standing up on the edge who has now jumped off? In this sculpture, the artist plays with movement, gravity, perspective and the dimension of time. The little man is about to jump. At the same time, the impression of his large body is on the ground.

Hans Pauli Olsen: Over and Under the Water (1986)

Bronze, h. 300 cm. Gift from The Art Society of the Faroe Islands
The stretched body of a standing woman extends from a tall plinth. Hans Pauli Olsen often makes use of clear differences of proportion in one and the same sculpture. That is what he is doing here. The lower part of the body is normal sized, while the upper part is much smaller. As the title Over and Under the Water reminds us, proportions and dimensions change in water. The sculpture shows a snapshot of a woman’s body, which we can only experience like this in water – and in art.