NEW WEBPAGE

I recently designed a new webpage

My new webpage:

http://www.lenekilde.com/

Metal sculpture

I have just started making sculptures out of metal sheet. I start with making a mockup out of cardboard. I am using the cardboard pieces as template to make the metal sculptures. This one is made in Balestrand (Norway) where I had a artist in residence program this summer. (July 2015)

I named this one "The Tourist" as I got inspired by the behavior of the tourists who came to visit Balestrand. Most of them were taking pictures all the time and it seemed like they didn't remove there iphones from their face even for a second. "The Tourist" is twisting, working hard to take the best picture ever.

It is 180 cm tall.

This picture is taken just before an exhibition at Galleri Ramfjord summer 2015.

Photo: Elisabeth Ramfjord

Work in progress. This sculpture is all about balance and gravity. I found the steel some weeks ago in mountains of scrap metal in Hokksund (Norway)

finish work

160 cm tall

Blacksmith project in Wales

30 cm tall

Between sculpture and drawing

In 2012 I was awarded the Arts Council Norway’s three-year scholarship for young artists. I works primarily with figurative steel wire sculptures and drawings in closed spaces. Through the steel wire sculptures, I challenges ideas about the differences between sculpture and drawing. 

Fuel saving cooking oven made by local material in Uganda.

Fuel saving cooking oven made by local material in Uganda.

 I came up with this project idea when I was doing my placement in Uganda in the countryside. While I was there, I noticed how Ugandan women cook their meals. Usually they are cooking inside their houses, over a fireplace built out of three stones. This is an ineffective way of cooking because the heat in the open fireplace is not insulated. The main fuel is firewood. If you don`t own your own land, you have to buy the firewood. 

The challenges with this kind of cooking are high risk of fire and smoke injuries. Women are the ones that prepare the meals in Uganda, by talking with them I found out that they weren`t really happy about this way of cooking. They were very interested to find an easier and safer option. 

Ugandan women spend a lot of time preparing their food. That`s why I wanted to design an oven that is well insulated and keeps the heat longer. It also means that you need less wood to prepare the meal. The chimney is essential in this project to get the smoke out of the room.

I was discussing with them about how we could organize the project together. We were talking about ways to establish a company that would travel from village to village making ovens for people around the country. This could then be an additional source of income for the women.

 Collecting termithill clay

 The shape of the oven has changed compared to the one I designed in Norway. The women wanted to change the form to something that is more desirable for them. It gives the oven an identity that leads to the feeling of ownership. That is an important criteria for future success of the oven.

Light and benches, At Ahus hospital.

 Light and benches,  Ahus (The biggest hospital in Norway). In cooperation with Valerio Fornasini.

The Nutmeg Princess, Grenada Underwater Sculpture Park

Grenada Underwater Sculpture Management, Inc. (GUSMI), in conjunction with Norwegian Artist Lene Kilde, are proud to announce a new addition to the world-renowned Underwater Sculpture Park in Grenada. 

The underwater sculpture park at Molinere Bay has attracted worldwide attention as the first of its kind. The original sculptures were created by British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor in 2007 as an environmental sustainability project to create new areas for corals, sponges and other marine life to grow and inhabit.  “The area has been a huge success with visitors and has become a major reason that people are traveling to Grenada. In 2012 it was named a ‘Wonder of the World’ by National Geographic and this type of recognition is just fantastic for Grenada.”

Lene Kilde, a recipient of a prestigious arts scholarship by the Norwegian Arts Council, was inspired by Grenada’s underwater art and applied to GUSMI to make a sculpture for the park. On arrival, Lene totally immersed herself in Grenadian life and culture exploring, experiencing and researching as much as possible to gain inspiration for a sculpture that would not only be helpful to the reef but would also have a strong connection with Grenada. 

The new sculpture is based on the fabled ‘Nutmeg Princess’, a story by renowned Grenadian Author Richardo Keens- Douglas. The book was recently voted into the ‘Top 100 Books of All Time for Children in Canada’ by Todays Parents. The tale is spun around a beautiful Caribbean princess who lives at Grand Etang lake.