Nørrebro Market Square, Copenhagen,
July-Sept 2008
Everyday rhythms of moving the city
For three months during summer 2008, a patch of “Jungle Strings” criss-crossed the biggest walls of the Nørrebro Market Square. Every string was handmade and strong enough so that adults, youngsters, and children could swing through the Jungle. Anyone who felt like moving and weaving to further develop the Jungle could participate.
Destructive actions – inevitable sources of energy
I observed everything from a hammock-like structure taking shape, and mainly outbursts of joy and swinging in the strings in various speed from a nap in the strings to swinging fast. One night some youngsters cut down a small part of the Jungle. This was expected because many of them carry knives and it would be worse if they did not react at all. The construction was made to integrate this kind of aggressive expression and the strings were tied together in new ways. The children made more jungle strings and used chalk to draw on the ground. Bags and other goods were attached to the strings and transformed the Jungle on market days.
During the three months, “Jungle Strings” experienced constant change and movement thanks to local residents and interested passersby. The changes reflect this particular urban space’s different groups of citizens and their different stages of creativity: creation, destruction, transformation, recreation… and the cycle begins over.
Transformed by citizens’ self-expression
The city architecture was temporarily transformed because “Jungle Strings” encouraged the public to move differently and expressing itself in new ways. The installation experimented with the creation of public space for constructive as well as destructive purposes as natural and inevitable parts of the collective creativity people bring to the city
http://creativeactions.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=837.
July 22/ Some people made a hammock-spider-thing. A father with two kids enjoyed it. /
Some days later it was all wet in rain.
Aug 11/ New sign saying: “Everybody can move the jungle”
