Of corn spirits and other creatures

In our last performance as part of our project in Vörå (Vöyri), we explored the significance of the so-called corn spirit (or: grain spirit) in harvest traditions. In both Central and Northern Europe, people were afraid of upsetting the corn spirit and thus risking poor harvests. After the harvest, sacrifices were made to appease the spirit.

No one had ever seen it, but people were certain that it roamed the fields in various animal forms. We reinterpreted these images and made the corn spirit friendly.

Also see:
Sir James George Frazer: The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (1890)

Fotos: Kim Blåfield

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

With the support of:
Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft GmbH, Mikko Fritze, Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #participartoryart #contemporaryart #grainfarming #rye #roggen #ernte #harvest #harvesttraditions #jamesfrazer #thegoldenbough #cornspirit #dergoldenezweig #brauchtum #traditions #customs #finland #finnland #vörå #vöyri #animals #masks #abramsgarden #kimblafield #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #österbotten #ostrobothnia #stoppelfeld #korngeist #grainspirit

Nordic heat waves, a rushed harvest and a harvester from Westphalia

We didn´t make it back on time to Finland. Due to the recent heat wave in the north, our rye ripened so fast that it was ready before the originally calculated date and had to be harvested as soon as possible. Fortunately, the village and our hosts were there and the harvest already took place on Wednesday. Our agricultural advisor arrived with his brand new (!) combine harvester, which had just been delivered to him from Westphalia, and our photographer Kim was available to document everything for us which was a great relief.
We were connected live via video. At least that was something.

The rye was so dry that it no longer needed to be taken to the drying facility.
We now have 700 kg of rye.

Next week we will also be back.

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

Thank you, Kim Blåfield, for the great images!

With the support of:
Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft GmbH Mikko Fritze
Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #conceptualart #participartoryart #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #vörå #vöyri #rye #grainfarming #claas #harvester #grainfarming #finnlines #finnlandinstitut #mikkofritze #kimblåfield #finland #finnland #heatwave #westfalen #westphalia #abramsgården #ostrobothnia #österbotten #roggen #roggenfeld #ernte #erntezeit #climatecrisis

A few images of our rye field from above.

Before we left Vörå (Vöyri) the last time we used the drone to document the field. Our agricultural consultant is not worried about the rye falling over, apparently it will not cause problems for the harvest process.

We are now preparing our upcoming performance for our next stay in Vörå. In the performance we will deal with traditions related to the harvest that were practised in the North.

PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

With the support of: Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft, Mikko Fritze, Finnlines

#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk #perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund


#art #partcipartoryart #conceptualart #rye #granary #grainfarming #finland #vörå #vöyri #österbotten #ostrobothnia #abramsgarden #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #scheibeundguentzel #performance #ryefield #harvest #farming #harvesttraditions #kunst #zeitgenössischekunst #konzeptkunst #partizipativekunst

Good bye Finland!
After finishing our project at Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) we still had a few days for ourselves. Took the route through Karelia, visited many kirppituoris, were embraced by the forest, went through several storms and just boarded the ferry to Travemünde. We will disappear now in the time hole in the Baltic Sea.

Once we are back in Hamburg we will prepare the next chapter of PRESERVED // Rågens rike. Harvest!

PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

With the support of: Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft, Mikko Fritze, Finnlines

#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk #perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

Fotos: Scheibe & Güntzel

#rye #grainfarming #ragensrike #österbotten #ostrobothnia #art #participartoryart #scheibeundgüntzel #scheibeundguentzel #preserved #kunst #partizipativekunst #slowtravel #abramsgården #vörå #vöyri #karelia #karelien #finnlines #hafen #fähre #ferry #kirppis #forest #helsinki #travemünde #mikkofritze #finnlandinstitut

Still on the road.
Our project in Vörå (Vöyri) Finland is over for now (to follow the project see -> PRESERVED_ScheibeundGüntzel). It all went well and we are now on our way back. From Vörå to Karelia. Most of the time I stared into the trees or listened to the wind. Tomorrow we will take the ferry from Helsinki to Travemünde.

And we will back for the harvest of our rye field in August already.

Enjoy your summer!

#art #conceptualart #participartoryart #rye #scheibeundgüntzel #scheibeundguentzel #finnland #slowtravel #preserved #karelien #karelia #finland #helsinki #travemünde #finnlines #abramsgarden #birkenwald #forest #birchforest #wald

Sauna in the storm, lovers in the rye, rye porridge and a famous sauna to rent.
And we will be back soon!

Our time in Vörå is up for now. The lovers sat in front of the heart, our hosts invited us to their summer house near Vörå where we spent a day in the sauna while outside a storm was passing by, our agricultural advisor (Grannas Lantbruk) served us a most delicious ry porridge and the famous sauna that was brought from Vörå to Basel to support the band KAJ which represented Sweden in the ESC and comes from Vörå is now back in town and can be rented.

We will be back soon for the harvest. Stay tuned.

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

With the support of: Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft Mikko Fritze Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

Fotos: Scheibe & Güntzel

#art #participartoryart #conceptualart #rye #grainfarming #finland #ragensrike #österbotten #ostrobothnia #vöradagarna #vörå #vöyri #grainfield #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #heart #liebesnest #finnlines #finlandinstitut #mikkofritze #granary #finland #finnland #esc #kaj #sauna #ryeporridge #storm #heart #scheibeundgüntzel #scheibeundguentzel #rye #summerhouse #vöråkommun

About yesterday.
Thank you all for coming. We all (including the cat) had a blast. Lovers, parents with their kids, a couple on their wedding anniversary and the cat, they all came to sit under the heart in front of the rye field.

Today and tomorrow you can find us at Abramsgården from 3.30 - 5 p.m..
Only that today due to the rain we will be in the barn next to the rye field where you can see the rye through the window.

Abramsgården in Vörå, Alunvägen 3, Vörå, Finland

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in Finland-Sweden, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

With the support of: Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft Mikko Fritze Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

Fotos: Scheibe & Güntzel

#art #participartoryart #conceptualart #rye #grainfarming #finland #ragensrike #österbotten #ostrobothnia #vöradagarna #vörå #vöyri #grainfield #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #heart #liebesnest #finnlines #finlandinstitut #mikkofritze

Art meets Finnish grainfarming or It takes a village to plant a rye field
MEET US TODAY IN FRONT OF THE HEART:

Scheibe & Güntzel
PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finnland 24-25 / kärlekens rågfalt
as part of Vörådagarna 2025

In the heart of the historic “Rågens rike”, on a 2000 m² rye field at #Abramsgården in #Andkil, artist duo Scheibe & Güntzel invite you to a unique art experience. Through a site-specific installation and a participatory photo event, they highlight the disappearance of traditional rye fields – and their role as hideaways and meeting spots for loved ones. Hovering above the field is a slowly rotating, glowing red heart. For three days, a bench will be placed beneath the heart, where visitors can sit – alone or together. The artists will photograph these encounters, print the images on-site, and give them to participants as a memory of the #summer, the field, and the moment.

3.30 - 5 p.m at Abramsgården in Vörå, Alunvägen 3, Vörå, Finland

https://lnkd.in/eBwWZZAJ

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in Finland-Sweden, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

With the support of: Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft Mikko Fritze Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

Foto: Dorothee Schulte-Basta

#art #participartoryart #conceptualart #rye #grainfarming #finland #ragensrike #österbotten #ostrobothnia #vöradagarna #vörå #vöyri #grainfield #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #heart #liebesnest