Applethought

On a hill between Vivalla and Hjärsta is a three-metre-high apple core made of steel.

The Vivalla hill was formed by soil and rocks excavated during the construction of Vivalla in the late 1960s. When the area was renovated in the late 2010s, a contest was held to decide which artwork would crown the hill. The winner was Applethought by the artist duo Bigert & Bergström.

The apple has a central role in the biblical story of the origins of humankind: She took a bite from the forbidden fruit and became self-aware. In the bitemarks on Bigert & Bergström’s apple, the steel is polished so that it functions a bit like a funhouse mirror. The viewer and their surroundings are reflected upside down and distorted. Applethought thus becomes a tool for self-reflection.

The indentations of the bites begin at just the right height for passers-by to sit and look out over the park and the city. The artists hope that the sculpture will become a meeting place where visitors can sit and talk and find the opportunity for reflection.

Applethought is part of a series of public works that Bigert & Bergström call Falling Apples. Besides here in Örebro, steel apples in varying degrees of consumption can also be found in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Lier in Norway.