Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Scandinavian Culture – Denmark
Greed by Steinar Haga Kristensen.
Times of sin The seven deadly sins and their relevance to life in the 21st century are explored through seven exhibitions across Jutland in Denmark. By Thomas Bech Hansen | Photos: Skovgaard Museum
When did you last commit a sin? Maybe you would only admit it to yourself if you felt a touch of envy, sloth, gluttony, anger, greed, lust or pride – the seven deadly sins described and classified in early Christian times. But if such an act of soul searching proves one thing, it is that we still hold onto a notion of sins. Seven exhibitions across the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, divided between seven venues, encourage us to rethink the deadly sins and what they mean in today’s society.
Where is the power? “The power used to be with the church. But where is it now?” asks Anne-Mette Villumsen, director at the Skovgaard Museum in Viborg, one of the venues involved, referring to the fact that the seven 36 | Issue 98 | March 2017
sins were created by the church as an instrument to make immorality tangible. “We still live by many of the same values, at least the sins and virtues tend to be more or less the same as they were hundreds of years ago,” she continues. “But the question is how we perceive them today, what relevance they have. The purpose of these exhibitions is to look at the seven deadly sins and use them to discuss and debate contemporary life.”
Sins and virtues With Viborg Cathedral as its next-door neighbour, the Skovgaard Museum needs no reminder of the old world order. Inside is Rebecca Louise Law’s modern interpretation of the sin pride. From blooming to withering, the British artist’s flower installations illustrate pride as
hubristic. The other six venues also feature both Danish and international artists using a range of formats, from Katja Bjørn’s video sculptures at Muse®um in Skive to Jamex and Einar de la Torre’s glass art at Glasmuseet in Ebeltoft. Villumsen takes a broader look at the seven deadly sins exhibitions and argues that contemporary eyes might even view some sins as virtues. “Nowadays, for instance, there is a lot of talk about stress and work-life balance. Maybe a sin like sloth is on the way to becoming a virtue?” she ponders. “And maybe the reason we have come to talk so much about stress, and sometimes consider it prestigious, is that we subconsciously perhaps fear committing the deadly sin of sloth. It could also be that lust has become desirable. Just think of Fifty Shades of Grey.” There is, she says, an eternal struggle between good and evil. “Everyone seems to keep their own private score. Someone might take a long airplane journey, leaving