En 
Da
For the fourth time, sculptor Stine Ring Hansen is creating the bronze sculptures that will be presented to the winners of The Bright Idea. She will talk about her work on the two sculptures before the works are handed over to this year’s award winners on 25 May.
For artist Stine Ring Hansen, this is the fourth time she has sculpted, cast, sanded and polished the two bronze sculptures that will be presented on 25 May to this year’s two winners of the Bright Idea award along with a total of DKK 500,000. Stine Ring Hansen works on the sculptures at Raadvad Bronzeværksted, which is part of the former Raadvad Factory, where she has been part of a community of craftsmen who share talent and passion for art, crafts and building restoration for 30 years.
One of the winning sculptures at this year’s award ceremony is already on the table among many other finished bronze sculptures in the workshop, just waiting to be joined by its mate. Stine Ring Hansen is building the next sculpture in wax as the first step in a longer work process before this sculpture is also finished in the bronze cabinet on the table.
“I think it’s great to be given a task like this, where I have to think about what the purpose of the award is and how it should be perceived by the recipient. It must in some way activate a desire, have a certain pride and be motivating for the idea the prize winner is working on,” says Stine Ring Hansen.
The sculptor has been working with bronze sculptures for 30 years and had her first exhibition in 1992. Her works can be seen in many prominent locations in cities across the country, at exhibitions and in private homes and businesses.
The sculptures allow her to express something in her own language. “Sculptures must mean something and have a story, otherwise they shouldn’t be here,” says Stine Ring Hansen. “They should also be able to move us a little. Like her bronze-cast comments on refugee flows, food waste, climate crisis and love, which are also on display in the workshop.
The joy of anticipation and the road to the goal
The sculptures for the Bright Idea winners must naturally express something joyful and praiseworthy. She went through the creative process more than four years ago when she was first commissioned by the Otto Mønsted Foundation, and it’s easy for her to put into words the thoughts behind the design of the sculptures.
“The winding staircase expresses the struggle and the long road to get to something. And the way to get there is a bit winding, but it’s also rigorous, because if you have an idea and you’re fighting for something, you also have to be very determined and have some structures. The rigour is seen in the lower vertical lines of the sculpture, and then there is the movement of the spiral, which again points to the purposeful journey.
At the top is a secret, the seed or idea, right in the centre, which we are so excited to see what will become of it. Therein lies an expectation of what will happen, and this is also the case for the award winners in relation to what will come out and become something,” says Stine Ring Hansen.
The casting of the sculpture is followed by another artistic process of colouring the bronze with different acids or polishing it – depending on what she wants to express.
“I have emphasised the significance of the staircase by polishing its edge. I’ve done this to express that when you’ve come this far, you’ve also come a long way and you need to be given another push in the right direction – like getting this award and recognition.
That’s what’s so important – to recognise that this is something that can be used for something. One day, the winners who developed the ideas will have moved on, but they will still have the sculpture and can think “once upon a time I created something – that bright idea”. That’s why I think it’s great that the foundation makes some markings and honours someone with something that lasts. I give a 2000-year guarantee on my sculptures, as I usually say,” says the sculptor with a great love for bronze.
FACTS
About a long labour process:
For Stine Ring Hansen, the work begins with sketches on paper. Then she moulds the sculpture in either wax or clay until she is 100% satisfied with the expression from all sides. The sculpture is then placed on a moulding material of tennis clay, plaster and water. Then the sculpture is fitted with inlet channels and a small funnel (to pour bronze into later). A cylinder is fitted around the outside of the sculpture and then the cylinder is completely filled with moulding material. After solidification, it is placed in a 600 degree oven for a few days. During this process, the wax melts and the sculpture is now the sculptural cavity under the moulding material. The cylinder is further stabilised before the 1250 degree bronze is poured into the mould. After cooling, the sculpture is sandblasted and the work is finished by grinding, polishing and colouring with various acids. Finally, the sculpture is given a surface treatment with beeswax.