The Steilneset Memorial to the victims of the seventeenth century witch hunt in Finnmark was a unique artistic collaboration between Louise Bourgeois, American artist, born in France, and the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, and was opened in 2011. It was Bourgeois' last major work before she died.
Situated on the execution site on the island of Vardø, the memorial is one of the most intense and humbling visual experiences I have ever encountered. I visited in mid-winter, entering Peter Zumthor's work first along a wooden gangway. Its external structure was reminiscent of the fishing racks of Finnmark, its situation precarious perched on the very edge of the island.
Within the structure was a long seemingly endless corridor. Dark and haunting in winter-time, a bare bulb of light represented each life taken, and the story of every single person executed as a witch in Finnmark lined the walls. Tiny squares of glass looked out upon the raging sea. As the moaning wind shook the whole structure, I felt vulnerable and powerless.
From Zumthor's piece I walked across the execution site towards the glowing light inside Louise Bourgeois installation entitled, 'The Damned, The Possessed & The Beloved'.
What at first appeared simple, a metal chair with a flame flaring from its seat within a circle of concrete, took on an horrific aspect once I looked in the huge disproportioned circular mirrors angled around and above it. I was disturbed by the impact of seeing my distended self in the flames. To stumble outside again and find myself staring across the wild arctic waters, looking at the hill Domen, the mythic entranceway to Hell, intensified the experience as I imagined this would be the last thing the persecuted would see before being put to the flames.
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