The Sun Voyager, Steel sculpture at Sæbraut waterfront, Reykjavik, Iceland
The Sun Voyager is a steel sculpture at the Sæbraut waterfront in Reykjavík, Iceland. The piece consists of curved and welded ribs that lean toward the water and resemble the skeleton structure of a ship hull.
In 1986 the district association of west Reykjavík funded a competition for an outdoor sculpture marking the city's 200th anniversary; Árnason's aluminium model won and was handed to the city for enlargement. Árnason died in 1989, before the full-size stainless steel work was unveiled on Sæbraut on 18 August 1990, Reykjavík's birthday. His assistant Kristin E. Hrafnsson oversaw the building, with engineering by Sigurjón Yngvason and construction by Reynir Hjálmtýsson.
Árnason described the work as a dreamboat and an ode to the Sun, meant to convey the promise of undiscovered territory, hope, progress and freedom. He traced the idea to a 1985 stay at Bockholm in the Finnish archipelago, where he carved a sun ship into a granite rock by the sea. The stainless steel form is often read as a Viking ship, and it is among Reykjavík's most photographed artworks.
The piece stands freely accessible along the coastal path and can be viewed in any weather. The ground is paved and fairly level, making it easier to approach with a wheelchair or stroller.
At low sun angles the ribs cast narrow shadows on the ground and shift their lines with each season. On clear winter nights the surface reflects the northern lights in faint green or violet tones.
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