On July 22, 2011, the world reeled in the aftermath of the shocking terrorist attacks carried out by Anders Breivik in Norway. Four years on, architectural studio 3RW has unveiled a new memorial to commemorate the tragic events on Utøya Island, west of the capital, Oslo. The Bergen-based firm’s sculptural installation is entitled Lysningen, or “the Clearing,” a place for reflection and remembrance set within a beautiful pine forest overlooking the water.
The new memorial forms a counterpoint to another commemorative intervention for the victims of that horrific day, Jonas Dahlberg’s striking “Memory Wound,” an 11.5-foot-wide slice through the Sørbråten peninsula facing the island where 69 people lost their lives. While Dahlberg’s design symbolizes the immense pain caused to the people of Utøya, 3RW’s piece embodies a more optimistic metaphor of unity, involving many local volunteers in the construction process to aid the healing process via the act of participation — an act known in Norwegian as “Dugnad.”
To that end, 3RW has installed a 13-foot ring of steel suspended from the neighboring pine trees so that it appears to float above a circle of sawn log sections embedded in the ground. The names of the victims are etched into the surface of the cylinder, allowing light to filter through from between the canopy of trees overhead. Slate pathways radiate from the monument, interspersed with borders of native wild flowers that will encourage insects and butterflies to populate the clearing, a further symbol of new life for Utøya and its community.
The memorial’s natural context should offer a peaceful space for quiet contemplation, while its elevated position offers serene views across the water to the mainland of Norway — including the peninsula where Dahlberg’s dramatic landscape intervention will soon be installed.