Traversatorie – Jonas Høgli Major

Traversatorie is a footbridge and landscape installation that extends through Torbjørnsbu gruve. It makes the open-pit mine accessible and provides close contact with the area, while also functioning as an independent work of art.

Ever since Arendal Municipality purchased the factory building and the mining property in 1992, there had been plans to open the mine to the public. The idea of a footbridge over the mine emerged over several decades, through the dedicated work of Harald Solberg (1954–2020), former director and artistic director of Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall. Solberg headed the institution from 1997 to 2020. In dialogue with a number of architects and engineers, the idea of a footbridge extending from the third floor gradually took shape. Solberg invited artist and architect Jonas Høgli Major (b. 1983, Arendal) into the process. In close dialogue with Solberg and the engineers at STÆRK & CO, Major designed Traversatorie as the structure appears in its final form.

Traversatorie is made of structural steel, wood and glass, and is designed with the least possible intervention in the terrain. Large parts of the structure rest on slender steel columns that lift it above vegetation, rock and cultural-historical traces. The solution makes it possible to move through the landscape without extensive safety measures or intervention in the open-pit mine. At the same time, the foundations and anchoring have been designed so that the structure can be dismantled in the future without permanent changes to the area.

Traversatorie follows the forms of the landscape, changing direction and height along the way. Some sections are closely aligned with the rock walls, while others extend out over the open-pit mine. Along the route, new views of rock, vegetation, mine entrances and artworks continually open up. A spiral staircase connects different levels of the structure, while a staircase and bridge in oak, designed and executed by Bøylestad Moen, provide access to one of the old mine galleries. The construction opens up previously inaccessible parts of the area, while also creating new perspectives on the landscape.

Traversatorie also functions as the unifying structure of Gruvene skulpturpark. It connects the works to one another and shapes how they are experienced. Several of the installations have been developed or placed with the movement through the area as their point of departure, meeting visitors at specific places and from specific angles. In this way, the footbridge functions not only as a rust-red thread through the landscape, but also as a device that organises the experience of the sculpture park.

The choice of materials links the construction to the history of the area. Traversatorie is built in structural steel, which through its colour and material character refers to the iron ore extracted from the mine over several hundred years. At the same time, the work may recall older industrial structures and technical installations. The wooden deck may evoke associations with the timber used in mining and the firewood supplied by farmers in the area for fire-setting. In this way, the work connects landscape, material history and local cultural history.