The Last Flight of the Insect
Near the Geophysical Institute stands a large sculpture. It's stylized, but not as abstract as it may seem at first glance. Anax Imperator is the Latin name of the Emperor dragonfly. We recognize the insect in the shape of the sculpture, but it seems to have crash-landed during a flight.
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The limbs are separate, detached from each other, and the head is pressed into the base of the sculpture. Broken wings are sticking out at atrocious angles. Anax Imperator has a morbid feel to it. Still, there is something beautiful in an insect, and a broken one to boot, being awarded such space and size in a sculpture.
Olav Orud (1942-) is an experienced sculptor. He was a pupil of Per Palle Storm at the National Art Academy, but soon developed a less classical style using modern materials. Orud works in many different materials, and the material itself interests him less than the movement and the space in and around the sculpture. In the 1980s Orud was a member of the GRAS artist group, and in later years he has shown a commitment to climate change awareness. In 2010 he won, over fifty other contestants, in the competition to get to make a new statue of King Olav V for the City Hall in Oslo.