Gemenskap likhet olikhet (Community-likeness-unlikeness)

Artists: Jill and Roland Englund
Year created: 1981
Sculpture: Stainless steel

A collection of pipes of different lengths. Together they form a shape reminiscent of an organ – but this artwork does not play notes: it evokes thoughts.

The pipes can be interpreted as people. Some stand close together, in groups; they have a sense of community. Perhaps they share a background or sense of belonging. One of the pipes stands on its own, a little to the side. It is only ten centimetres in length. It may symbolise loneliness – the person who is not really included.

Despite the differences in length, all the pipes are similar in their other dimensions. It says something about us as human beings: whatever our backgrounds, we are not so different at heart.

The sculpture was created from a model of cardboard tubes and cement. The idea was conceived by the artists Jill and Roland Englund, with the final work constructed by students from the sheet metal and engineering programme at the then Fortuna Upper Secondary School.

It is a quiet sculpture – but it speaks of community, exclusion and human likeness.

Jill Englund (b. 1944), active in Jönköping, works in a number of mediums: textile, concrete, glass, graphics and more. She studied at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås and has attended a number of educational programmes for artists.

Roland Englund (b. 1943), also based in Jönköping, works in graphics, oil and acrylic. He is self-taught.