Decoration Details

Decoration -mobile

Decoration

Present name
Herstedvester Prison
Town, country
Albertslund, Denmark
Description
exterior | decoration | the inside of prison wall
Completed
1989
Status
not extant
Removed
2014
Done by
Poul Gernes, Ulrikka Gernes, Helene Willumsen, Isis, the artists' collective formed by Poul Gernes' former students from the Fine Arts Academy
IDname
PG-Z-88
Anthology
Finn Thybo Andersen on the prison wall

Another unusual project: The decoration of the prison’s 600 m2 northern wall! In the journal Nyt fra Kriminalforsorgen (October 1989), Helene Willumsen wrote: 

 

“When we first saw the wall, we were all struck by the fact that there wasn’t a plant, so to speak, or anything that looked like a flower. Poul Gernes made a sketch with lots of flowers and hearts. Our colour choices, like the motifs, were linked to the idea of enriching and bringing joy instead of creating turmoil and trouble. For this reason, our colours are clear, strong, and hopefully harmonious.” 

 

The wall was torn down in 2014.

Finn Thybo Andersen: Poul Gernes Decoration Projects. London 2018, p. 266. Translated by Dan A. Marmorstein. Excerpt. 

Institution of Herstedvester

Institution of Herstedvester

Photo: Ulrikka Gernes

Institution of Herstedvester

Institution of Herstedvester

Photo: Unni Johnsen