Henrik Håkansson

Henrik Håkansson

(Born 1968, works in Berlin)

The Reserve (001), 2009 – 2012
Galvanized steel fence

50 x 50 m

When Henrik Håkansson is commissioned to create a new work, he usually bases it on the unique flora and fauna of the site. At Wanås he has reserved an area of 2,500 sq m in the park to be fenced off. Neither the artist, visitors nor park attendants are allowed in. The Reserve (001) will be an autonomous island in the existing landscape. In this way, he has enabled the area to develop without human interference for the foreseeable future offering a contrast to the surrounding nature. The project was initiated in conjunction with the exhibition WANÅS 2009: Footprints, when artists that clearly expressed an interest in man’s relationship to nature were invited. Biologists often study the ecosystem of a limited area as in The Reserve (001). Håkansson frequently applies methods resembling those used by scientists, but does not strive to attain an unequivocal result—instead, his emphasis is on the form of research itself.