I’m in Ringkøbing, West Jutland, Denmark, for a two-week residency called The Enchanting Village, led by Antonella Diana. It’s part of Teatret OM‘s UR-NAT Festival, which takes place 27-31 August.

During the two weeks, myself and several other artists are creating installations in Alkjær Lukke, the park where the festival will take place. It’s a beautiful peaceful park, mostly untamed forest with a little bit of tamed garden. Our installations will be there at least until the end of the festival.

The brief is to use recycled or natural materials, and to work with the natural spaces of the park. The space I’ve chosen is a small island in a duck pond, and my materials are large stainless steel mirrors, recycled for the second time. Previously, I’ve worked with mirrors in indoor situations, creating a room of mirrors in a blacked out space and projecting animated text into the mirrors along with a soundscape. Working outside, on an island with a lot of vegetation, in the unpredictable weather of the Danish summer, is a new challenge. Just getting the mirrors across the shallow duck pond to the island was a major mission in itself!

The other artists are working with willow, wood, wool and shit – yes, Dragana Kojicic has made a tower that she is plastering with a mixture of horse manure and straw. As well as my mirrors and Dragana’s tower, there are Antonella’s willow structures, Simone Perra’s fallen tree dragon, Hans-Olof Tani’s tiny house and ugly man, Victoria Torboli’s sheep fleeces and draped woollen nets, and Petra Lindblom’s stick figures. During the last week as the installations have evolved, many curious passers-by have stopped to chat with us about our work.

The title I’ve chosen for my installation is “in it together”. In a literal sense it refers to the multiplicity of selves in the mirrored space, but more broadly it references the current state of the world and the environment. We are in a state of extreme climate change, we cannot escape it, and we are all in the same boat; money will not insulate the billionaires from the consequences. At the same time we are seeing the renewed rise of fascism in so many parts of the world, senseless wars and even blatant genocide; we cannot deny or ignore it. We have to accept that this is where we are, and the only way out is to collectively work towards a solution.

Seeking solutions together inspires me. It requires lateral thinking, listening to other perspectives, experimentation, questioning, failure, frustration and patience. It may push us out of our comfort zones, but it may also reveal new approaches and create knowledge. If we approach the challenges we find ourselves in with openness and a readiness to collaborate, we can discover solutions.

Here we are, in it together. Let’s reach out our hands to each other and find our way through this giant mess!