Merkestein og Magi
by Maren Dagny Juell
“Merkestein og magi” is an artwork created for and located in Skårerparken, Lørenskog Norway.
It is an Augmented Reality experience in four chapters that takes about 10 minutes, including the walk around the park. A stone monument with an engraved QR code is the starting point and part of the first chapter.
The work was made specifically for Skåreparken on commission by Lørenskog Municipality and can only be experienced there.
Skårerparken is a sustainably built public park in the centre of Lørenskog, just outside Oslo. With its playgrounds, walks, ice skating rink and water features it is made to be a space for the public with a hidden purpose as the water reservoir underneath stops flooding and protects the town from water damage. The work aims to make a fairy tale version of old stories around water and water creatures. It focuses on the connection between all beings and the respect present in these old folk tales and connects it with current scientific data.
The stories are all made to exist within the limits of current AR technology with children and adults in mind. Maren has focused on local narratives and old Norwegian folktales and mythologies with a fundamental undertone of respect and care for nature.
The QR code is presented as today’s hieroglyph or rune and the mobile phone becomes a magic stone wand that activates it. She refers to computer game visuals from games like Zelda that utilise these types of iconography. The stone, in local granite, is meant to stay for a long time, and it will be exciting to see how technology keeps up with our current signifiers."
