(one out of two originals is intact)
The cairns consisted of two long oak stakes driven into the ground. Just as it is/was customary in New Zealand to build haystacks around such stakes, New Zealand artist Chris Booth also used oak stakes as the center of his stacks of branches pressed together by a pierced boulder.
The still existing cairn consists of small branches which slowly form and lead the stone down towards the ground. The other, where only Booth's carved stones now remain, was more quickly perishable, being composed entirely of thin vertical rafters.
Chris Booth always works site-specifically and often with stone. His works therefore take on a very powerful expression. During his visit to Langeland, he too was inspired by the island's past.
Furthermore, his Tranekær cairns are a really good example of how natural art must retain its aesthetic integrity even in decay.
Artist: Chris Booth
Year: 1998
Chris Booth, born 1949 in New Zealand, educated at Canterbury University School of Fine Arts, New Zealand. Has i.a. carried out site-specific works in Australia, USA, England, Ireland and Italy.