''Omfalos'' is a concrete and rock

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

attributed to the Swedish artist

Lars Vilks Lars Endel Roger Vilks (20 June 1946 – 3 October 2021) was a Swedish visual artist and activist who was known for Lars Vilks Muhammad drawings controversy, the controversy surrounding his drawings of Muhammad. Many years earlier he had created ...

. It was forcefully removed from a natural reserve area where it had been unlawfully erected, and currently belongs to the collections of the

Moderna Museet Moderna Museet is a state museum for modern and contemporary art located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, opened in 1958. In 2009, the museum opened Moderna Museet Malmö in Malmö. History The museum opened in Stockh ...

The sculpture

The name, ''Omfalos,'' derives from the Greek ''ομφαλός'' (''

omphalos An omphalos is a religious stone artefact. In Ancient Greek, the word () means "navel". Among the Ancient Greeks, it was a widespread belief that Delphi was the center of the world. According to the myths regarding the founding of the Delphic ...

''), meaning "center of the world". It refers to the ancient sculpture ''

Omphalos An omphalos is a religious stone artefact. In Ancient Greek, the word () means "navel". Among the Ancient Greeks, it was a widespread belief that Delphi was the center of the world. According to the myths regarding the founding of the Delphic ...

'' found at Delphi, Greece. The sculpture was erected in 1999 in the

Kullaberg Kullaberg () is a peninsula and nature reserve protruding into the Kattegat in Höganäs Municipality near the town of Mölle in southwest Sweden. The site in the province of Skåne is an area of considerable biodiversity supporting a number of ...

natural reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologi ...

Skåne County Skåne County ( ), sometimes referred to as Scania County or just Scania in English, is the southernmost Counties of Sweden, county, or , of Sweden, mostly corresponding to the traditional Provinces of Sweden, province of Scania. It borders th ...

, Sweden, and takes the form of a 1.6 meter tall pillar. The local authorities deemed the construction of Omfalos to be in violation of the regulations governing the natural reserve, and initiated a

legal process Legal process (sometimes simply process) is any formal notice or writ by a court obtaining jurisdiction over a person or property. Common forms of process include a summons, subpoena, Mandate (criminal law), mandate, and warrant (law), warrant. ...

to have it destroyed or removed from the site. Lars Vilks denied being the creator of the work, but it was attributed to him over the course of the proceedings. In 2001, a crane barge transported the sculpture from the site, damaging it in the process. The then-current owner, the artist Ernst Billgren, donated it to the

, a modern art museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Lars Vilks was granted the authorities' approval to erect an 8 cm

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

at the original site.

Relation to other works

had previously and without permission erected two other sculptures in the Kullaberg natural reserve - the

Nimis Nimis () is a town and (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine, Friuli, in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, near the border with Slovenia. It is located at the foot of Mount Bernadia, home to a ...

and the Arx, made from

driftwood Driftwood is a wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea, lake, or river by the action of winds, tides or waves. It is part of beach wrack. In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance. However, the driftwood provides ...

and rock respectively, in 1980. When they were discovered in 1982, the local authorities decided that they were in violation of building code laws. Despite the authorities' efforts to have Nimis and Arx removed as well as several instances of vandalism and fire, repaired versions of both sculptures were still standing 40 years after their construction. Lars Vilks considers the sculptures and the controversy surrounding them to be works of conceptual art, with the legal proceedings comprising the most important part. The area, proclaimed by Vilks as the sovereign

micronation A micronation is a polity, political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from list o ...

of Ladonia, has become a tourist attraction with approximately 90,000 visitors annually.{{Cite web, date=2019-08-13, title=Kan bli förbjudet att bestiga Nimis, url=https://www.svt.se/kultur/kan-bli-forbjudet-att-bestiga-nimis, access-date=2020-09-16, website=SVT Nyheter, language=sv

References

Sculptures in Sweden Swedish sculpture Conceptual art Demolished buildings and structures in Sweden 1999 sculptures Concrete sculptures Stone sculptures Collection of Moderna Museet Höganäs Municipality