Statement by Torben Ebbesen |  |
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| The sculptor Torben Ebbesen interpreting his work with the Selandia coin. |
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"Rudolf Diesel's invention of the diesel combustion engine in the late 19th century propelled industry into the new century at full speed.
Oil as fuel replaced coal, and technology changed many a perception – not least the perception of what a ship should look like.
The Selandia was designed as the world's first modern ship without funnels, and the experience of seeing such a ship shook conventional wisdom.
Technology was the new manifestation of man's triumph over nature. At that time, speed was symbolised in a multitude of other ways. A case in point is that excessive use of straight lines and mechanical repetition of shapes enhanced the visual experience of speed and also broke the harmony between mind and environment. Technology, which replaced mechanics, changed man's whole outlook on the world. The concept of speed had made its mark.
M/S Selandia was launched in 1912 after almost 15 years of experiments at the Burmeister & Wain shipyard and machine works in Copenhagen.
The ship sank in 1942 after grounding near Japan – and after astounding the whole world.
My tribute to M/S Selandia, the ancestor of all modern ships, gives a dynamic impression of the power of invention ploughing its way through the sky and the sea – without funnels."
Torben Ebbesen, April 2008 |
