Ellen Hyllemose. Photo by Frida Gregersen

Creating a large-scale artwork for a building is different from creating an exhibition.

The process begins much like an exhibition, with ideas developed in response to the space. It then becomes increasingly collaborative as the work has to respond to a specific architectural context, practical requirements, budgets, materials, safety and the many people involved in realising the project.

Communication between architects, craftsmen, engineers and other professionals becomes an important part of the process.

At times, the artistic idea can almost disappear into practical solutions and economic considerations. For Hyllemose, the challenge is therefore to hold on to the original intention of the work while also being willing to adapt it when a problem or conflict arises.

The result is a work that does not simply occupy the building, but becomes part of its architecture, its functions and the everyday lives of the people who use it.

Hanging figurine, The Heart of the House, 2025

Welcome to the Langerhans’ Islands

The title Velkommen til de langerhanske øer (Welcome to the Langerhans’ Islands) refers to the islets of Langerhans, where insulin is produced. Throughout the work, organic forms appear again and again: in the stone fields in the floor, the painted areas on the walls, the hanging sculpture, the tables, the display cases and the artworks.

These forms can be understood on several levels. They recall landscapes, islands, stones and maps, while also suggesting the structures and forms found within the human body. In this way, the landscape of the building becomes connected to the landscape of the body.

Whether one is a patient or simply a visitor, circadian rhythms and sensory experiences are vital to our well-being. The artwork brings these ideas into the architecture through colour, form, materials, light and unexpected encounters.

The work as a whole represents a landscape-oriented and poetic interplay between added functions and materials, forms and meanings. The building acts as a body, a biological entity defined by circadian rhythms and sensory experience, governed by physical activity and the intake of nourishment, much like our own bodies.

"The display cases are full of everyday things that are often invisible to us or that we don't give much thought to.”

from Ellen Hyllemose’s website

The vertical atrium is central to the work. It connects the different floors and makes it possible to experience the building’s scale and different functions from above and below.
Hyllemose wanted to create something that could be seen by everyone, not only those on the ground floor. The hanging sculpture therefore extends into the atrium and can be experienced across several floors.

The Heart of the House is a sculptural and airy form that encompasses many forms within itself. It can be understood as the heart of the building, a receptor or a different kind of timekeeper. Its LED lighting marks the rhythm of the building. At specific times of day: 8, 12, 15 and 18, the light moves through the sculpture from top to bottom, creating an alternative kind of timekeeper. The rhythm refers to the daily routines of the Diabetes Center and, in particular, to the importance of mealtimes for people living with diabetes.

Rather than functioning as a conventional clock, the sculpture becomes an aesthetic marker of time and rhythm. The light moves through the three illuminated forms, creating a slow and visible transition that can be experienced from the surrounding floors. The sculpture is also connected to the idea of a signal or receptor, something that transmits, connects and activates processes. In this way, the hanging figure becomes a poetic image of the signals and rhythms within the body, the building and the everyday lives of those who use it.

There was also a desire to work with the outdoors, which became possible through the floor covering and the continuation of the stone fields from inside to outside.

The floor and walls bring the interior and exterior landscape together. When entering the areas marked by the stone fields, visitors are metaphorically stepping onto the islands. The fields create areas of calm and intimacy within the atrium, much like rugs in a home.

Individual painted fields on the walls continue this connection, marking the transition between horizontal and vertical, inside and outside. Their hand-painted forms relate to the stones in the floor and make the connection between the different parts of the building visible.

The landscape-like map created by the stone fields continues through the building and out into the garden, creating a flow between the different areas.

"The [hospital] has a great importance for those who will use the place. So I wanted to add something that has a different character than you would expect in a hospital.”

Since artworks cannot simply be placed on the floors or walls in the same way as in a gallery, Hyllemose found other ways of introducing art into the building. The artwork therefore becomes part of the architecture and its functions, while also creating moments that interrupt the clinical character of the hospital.

The works are intended not only to decorate the building, but to create opportunities for curiosity, reflection and sensory experiences within the routines of treatment. Some elements can be explored up close, while others can be experienced from a distance or encountered simply while moving through the building.

Ellen Hyllemose’s process began with freely exploring ideas in response to both the space and its surroundings before gradually focusing on the specific context. Often, she works from little more than the architect’s drawings and visualisations.

“The floor was the first thing I thought of, as it had a large empty surface in a slightly low-ceilinged room and with an opening to the atrium, where you could look down on the surface.”

The Heart of the House

The display cases are built around colours and forms that echo the hanging sculpture, the artworks and the tables throughout the café and entrance areas. The recurring forms create a visual dialogue between the different parts of the artwork and connect the landscape, the human body and the architecture.

In the display cases, visitors can discover objects collected by Hyllemose over time: things washed up on the beach, stones, recycled materials, objects derived from nature and found objects that might otherwise go unnoticed.

“I go on walks on the beach to find inspiration and let my mind wander. I get more ideas when I’m moving or simply when I’m doing something else […] I’ve collected stones all my life; shapes, fossils, patterns, and I’ve also found things on the beach that don’t belong there: items that have fallen off ships, been thrown into the water, or ended up there in other ways."

The objects encourage visitors to look more closely and to see familiar things in a different context. A stone, a piece of pottery, a handle or another everyday object can become something to investigate, wonder about or simply enjoy while waiting.

from Ellen Hyllemose’s website

Photo by Jakob Haugaard Christiansen