FIN A L P R OJ EC TS 20 16
I awake without an alarm clock, completely naturally every morning. The same goes for all the other seven billion people on the planet; the only difference is that we don’t wake up at the same time. Could you just imagine if all of us seven billion people would turn on the power and empty our trash cans at the same time? That would probably take a far better supply network, and one that would have to be twice the size of the earth! Fortunately, I live in a very small place where we’re only 3700 people during the winter and 20.000 people in summer, and our supply network can definitely handle that. At the time of writing I’m in the northern hemisphere, in the center of Denmark out in the middle of the sea called the Kattegat. If you’re ever in these parts, look for the sea port Kolby Kaas, and I’ll serve you a cup of coffee. Kås is an old Danish word for a primitive boat harbour. Along the Danish coasts there used to be a number of boat harbours, which were usually built from stone (moles). This morning I’m trying to keep both my eyes shut, preferably for as long as possible. Try and shut your eyelids. At this moment I’m investigating where the light might be in the room. I often enjoy hunting the natural light; I paint with light. In order to handle this knowledge I have trained my attention in the following way: Which aperture must I adjust my objective to, how much light should I let in? Here, the timer setting is crucial if I am to be able to fixate and choose whether figure or background should be in focus.
2030. We Samsings can’t be stopped – we have come to stay. In my optics, with 1/30 on the timer setting and the aperture on 11, there’s not a lot of room for hands that shake. The photo, which I have since developed, illustrates how a tribe of people have changed behaviour. We have invested 440 mio. Danish Kroner and developed a common mindset. What a center and what a wonderful world.
The contact is the relation
We Samsings still awake every single day to new dilemmas and conflicts that have to be solved. We all have many inner dialogues about what might happen if we just applied ourselves a little more. Or if that powerful person only listened to that other powerful person. But a good night’s sleep takes care of everything. Some are driven by a desire to prove themselves, and others are driven by common sense. If I were to tell the Samsings that someone from outside of Samsø thinks that the Samsings are special, esoteric creatures who must be in some kind of stronger pact with our dreams, the locals, in their own conservative way, would be embarrassed. In essence, there is no single person who could have done what Samsø has done alone. That is the solution. This is a real example of how getting off course can feel, and how together we can try to come back on course.
Silence before disruption
Together with 3700 Samsings I wake every morning with a good gut feeling. The decisive breakthrough came 17 years ago, when we as an island participated in a competition initiated by the Danish government and the Danish Energy Agency. Which island could become self-sufficient with wind and sun and biomass over 10 years starting in 1997? The plan was to build on solid public support, well-known technology and the legal rules already in place.
One late night on Samsø, about 6 years ago, after an evening meeting in the board of Stormur, I entered the driveway to park our bison brown Suzuki in the garage. Because of the salt water in the air everything rusts quickly so the car has to be protected. It is hours since the sun went down. I blink in the darkness and feel that the wind has gone down. Then I register a completely foreign sound. Two weeks later it turns out that it is an incredibly rare bird whose song I’m hearing in the darkness. It is a he, and it is a Russian Savi’s warbler. His song is long and intense. The Russian Savi’s warbler is calling his mate. She never comes, because he has landed in the wrong place, completely off course. This is an example of the exception that defies possibility. Ornithologists came from all over Denmark to experience this rare bird in our backyard. It puzzles me how it took me two weeks to fully register this magical phenomenon. It remained a mystery why he only sang when it was dark and you couldn’t see the bird. We listened to the Savi’s warbler for three weeks, and we know that it’s not going to happen again.We will never forget the bird’s song.
We are Denmark’s Renewable Energy Island, and we’re still working on figuring out how we can phase out diesel and gas by
The whole is in the detail
I’m working on a new anthology. The substance is that a whole island comes together and transforms into a producer of renewable energy. At this moment we’re working on becoming a sustainable island. But I won’t write about that here. I want to invite you – it must be experienced by meeting the place and the people who live here, everyday, on Samsø.
Change is a condition
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