A new outdoor artwork, Hringur og Kúla (‘Circle and Ball’) by Kristinn E. Hrafnsson and Studio Granda, turned out to be too heavy to be moved to the Arctic Circle on Grímsey island, north of Iceland, where it was supposed to stand and move with the Arctic Circle (it shifts by a few meters every year).
The concrete ball is three meters in diameter and weighs eight tons (16,000 lbs). It was transported by ferry to Grímsey and was supposed to be transported onwards with a truck to the Arctic Circle. However, the truck didn’t make it to the destination. Because of a slant, the ball almost fell off the truck and into the sea, ruv.is reports.
Now it has turned out that moving the ball to the Arctic Circle will cause damages to the soil and therefore it will be located elsewhere. “There’s a place closer [to the village] which is very beautiful and almost at highest point of the island. We can transport it there and use existing paths,” managing director of Visit Akureyri Þórgnýr Dýrfjörð told RÚV.
Þórgnýr said they’re looking into whether the ball can still move with the Arctic Circle. “The idea is very good but what changed is that the ball is heavier than expected. It’s of course a little funny but I think it will still be an impressive icon worth visiting.”
Grímsey island is part of Akureyri municipality.
