Anna Bak delves thoroughly into the relationship between humans and nature. A particular focus of her historical and cultural research is the stories people have always invented to establish a connection with nature. A good example of this is Anna Bak’s sculpture of two swallows hanging from the beams at Kunsthal Thy. Sailors use them as a symbol. Like swallows, they themselves travel around the world and always return home.

The sea is dark and vast. It is calm and deep. It is tempestuous and unruly. It ends with the landmasses it encounters. It laps onto sandy shores, crashes against steep coasts, makes pebbles whisper, and washes around the rocks of the shore. The moon dictates the tides. The coming and going of the sea is determined by the constellation of the planets. Some animals can be tamed, but the sea remains untameable. It is beyond human power to influence it. It is a force of nature. Venturing out to harvest its fruits is dangerous.

The water in Kunsthal Thy is dark and…