She Lies, Public sculpture in Oslo, Norway
She Lies is a large contemporary sculpture floating in the water of the Bjørvika Fjord in Oslo, right in front of the Norwegian Opera and Ballet building. It is made of stainless steel and glass panels arranged in sharp, angular planes that catch the sky and the surrounding waterfront.
The work was completed in 2010 by artist Monica Bonvicini. It was created as a permanent installation for the Bjørvika waterfront, an area developed around the new opera house.
Visitors often stop and stay by the water, watching the piece turn slowly and using it as a pause between the opera house and the harbor. Its presence turns a functional walkway into a spot where people point, take photos, and gather without entering a building.
You can see the sculpture from the waterfront promenade near the opera house, and its mirrored surfaces change constantly with the light and weather. It is worth walking around the quay to view it from different points, especially when the water is still enough to create reflections.
The artist based the shape on a famous 19th-century painting of broken ice floating at sea. The sculpture sits on a mooring system that lets it turn with the wind and tide, so its position never looks exactly the same twice.
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