ANDVARI
Twin Treasure Boxes
Huon Pine, MDF, Precatalysed Lacquer
Norse mythology is another goldmine for the primal images and stories bequeathed to us via Germanic culture and language, of which English is a part. It also provides the roots for Tolkiens invented mythology and the perceptual-cognitive category he established in literature, which Lueckenhausen has also referenced in his work. His ring of power in the Ring Trilogy is connected, either directly or indirectly, to the rings of power created by the dwarfs and held by the Rhinemaidens in Norse mythology, also referenced by many other artists Wagners Ring Cycle being amongst the best known.
Loki had to catch the dwarf Andvari, who was hiding in the shape of a fish, and make him give up the great golden treasure he was known to posses. The dwarf tried hard to hold on to a little golden ring, which he said would help him to become rich again, but which would bring destruction on all who possessed it.
(H. R. Ellis. Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, Penguin, Middlesex, 1964, p43.)
Again the Andvari pair operates within the core theme of duality and reconciliation of the unlike: Huon Pine (organic flesh) Zoomorphic characters melding with geometric, MDF, forms with a chromatic finish. Andvari do not have wings or feet however, the Zoomorphic in this case appears permanently melded with, or growing out of, the Architectonic.
They have their serious side but they, in common with so much of Lueckenhausens work, have a humorous / self-deprecatory side as well. This pair appears joyous and the upper part of the Zoomorphic section suggests animation, almost as if they are speaking. As manifestations of a domestic deity they suggest a possible parallel to the laughing Buddha rather than his more solemn, introspective incarnations.
However with Lueckenhausens work, one is always conscious of a potential duality. An undercurrent of a good/bad, protect/attack duality inserts itself into the narrative, a tension which is not entirely mitigated by their marionette-like cuteness
It might, in fact, be that very cuteness which is unnerving. The dark side of that duality draws on long threads of undercurrent myth, such as that of Pandora opening a forbidden container and releasing the spites to unleash sin and suffering on the world.
