Sunday 14 July 2013

Aka Day

Probably the most renowned contemporary artist in Greenland is Aka Hoegh, who grew up and still lives in Qaqortoq, a cosy little town in Greenlands South.
Aka Hoegh's chef d'oevre

Inspired already at the age of seven years by the integration of people, their houses, the abundant plant life and the ubiquitous rock faces, she started a project in 1993 by the name of "Stone and Man", involving 11 Nordic artists at that time who all literally left their mark in the rocks all over town.
It is an open project, and by now 31 pieces of art are to be found in the rocks of Qaqortoq, a truly unique open air collection.


...and her latest work
Lupines and Buttercup

But this is not the only attraction the capital of the Kujalleq municipality has to offer - the museum, the churches, the beautiful fountain (which for a long time was the only one in Greenland), made of the distinct Igaliko sandstone, the lake and river - and flowers, flowers, flowers.

Want to write a postcard to this address?
In the late afternoon our guests had the opportunity to join a Kaffemik, traditional meal in the house of a Greenlandic family. But today this family was very special as well: Our team member Aka grew up here, so we congregated in her mother's house to enjoy marvellous sweets and good strong coffee.
The Man in a Net
At the same time it was kind of a sad occasion, since our dear Aka was staying behind with her family - she is going to get married in two days only! Well, that sure counts as an excuse, doesn't it?
So the little red silhouette grew smaller and smaller on the pier as we made our way out of Qaqortoq.
Farewell, Aka! See you next year...
Miki's Mask Dance
Only two Greenlanders left on the team now. One of them, Miki, the allround artist, gave an impressive glance into the past with a traditional mask dance, impersonating the funny, the scary, and the animalistic side of the "People" - the Inuit.