Ingvar Cronhammar, ELIA (2001). Foto: Gunnar Merrild
400 meters down the road Ingvar Cronhammar's sculpture called Elia towers above HEART. Due to its measures of 60 meters in diameter and height of 32 meters above ground level, this gigantic steal sculpture is the largest in Northern Europe.
Elia's construction involves a gas generator which on occasion sends out a flame. This special feature has created a kind of mystery around the sculpture, because one never knows when Elia, which I situated on the outskirts of Herning, is going to send out flames of up to 10 meters high. It's due to the computer controlled technology which sends out the flames at random intervals, however, at least once every 18th day.
Elia's staircases face all four corners of the world. The steps are unnaturally high: approximately twice as high as normal steps, and will lead you to a platform from where you can look into the interior of Elia.
Furthermore, Elia has four global lamps with a red light acting as lighting rods. Therefore, one should note that standing on or being close to the sculpture during thunderstorms is connected with great danger.
Ingvar Cronhammar, ELIA (2001). Foto: Michael Møllegaard