Allegorical ideas

During the 1980s, Nørgaard was commissioned to create decorative works meant for public display. One of these commissions was for the Panum Institute in Denmark. For the work, he created 12 large-scale ceramic figures that he called Allegorical Figures. Among the eight figures at the exhibition, visitors can see a skillful combination of the medical world with everyday experiences in hospitals drawing allegories to mythology, religion, fairy tales and fantastical historical references.

With these imaginative images, Nørgaard shows how the world can be written and remodeled by the imagination of a single individual.

After the 1980s, he continued his critical attitude toward society and politics. In his later performance art such as World Peace Economy (1996-2001), he raised questions about human and cultural development against the background of a global economy.

In 2005, he drew inspiration from the marble sculpture Venus de Milo creating a series of works related to this goddess from ancient Greece. In the Promised Land, a recreation of the Venus de Milo is blindfolded and fenced in a cage, turning the ancient goddess into an allegorical personification of a blindfolded Lady Justice, sans arms, symbolic scales and sword.

As an artist, Nørgaard has continually shown his passion about foreign cultures, including Eastern culture, in his creations over the years. One of these, a performance art piece entitled Sisyphus Meets Confucius and Gets His First Cup of Green Tea, was performed in Beijing a few years ago.

According to Wang, Nørgaard often comes to China to research and experiment with materials such as ceramics and textiles, and in many of his works blends Eastern and Western culture in innovative ways.

According to Nørgaard many of the works at the exhibition, mostly the sculptures, were created in China. "Many of the sculptures were done together with Chinese artists. In this process, we learn from each other, you change your view when you change your position. So the sculptures I have done in China are very different from what I've done in Europe," he added.

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