Exxodus – passage through transformation

Sculpture
Material: wood battens, screws
Size: 14 x 5 x 1,5m

This work addresses the global refugee crisis — not just in Europe, but across the world, where war and famine force people to leave their homes, families, and lives behind. Often crossing water in inadequate vessels, searching for a new future where peace, security, and dignity might exist. It echoes the history of people walking toward the ”promised land,” where the miraculous parting of the Red Sea enabled them to escape oppression, while landing in the unknown.

With a simplified head and body of a grasshopper, built from wood battens, the sculpture winds through space in a snake-like arc — inspired by the movement of inchworms and caterpillars, who arch their bodies into gentle bows as they move. Visitors were invited to walk through the arc to enter OverLoad, an exhibition where transformation was central.

Caterpillars and inchworms transform into beautiful butterflies. Refugees walk toward a ”promised land” — often landing in a cocoon of limbo, waiting for the possibility to begin anew. A harsh path to transformation, but perhaps the only one.

Exxodus is a collaborative work, built by many hands. The sculpture can in other locations be put on a raft floating, under open skies, or as here, in a protected art space. It’s a work about not giving up. About meeting adversity with a positive mindset.

So remember, when walking through a “magical arc” any kind of miracle can happen.