Sauna Talk #023: Founders of The Solar Egg Sauna

I am excited to share with you this interview with both the founders and the builders of the living, breathing, functioning art sauna project called The Solar Egg Sauna.

There are two separate interviews within this episode. First, we hear from the artists and creators behind the Solar Egg Sauna. They are a pair of Swedish artists, known as Bigert and Bergström. During the second part of this podcast, we hear from the two builders. They flew to Minneapolis with the sauna from Sweden. As we sat on the sauna bench, we discover interesting details regarding the construction behind the elaborate project.

A working sculpture commission

The construction company Riksbyggen. commissioned the Solar Egg Sauna in Kiruna, Sweden in 2007. The company contracted with the artists to build this installation as a conversation piece to raise awareness of the fact that Kiruna, a town of 20,000 people, was to be moved, making way for iron ore mining.

Bigert and Bergström are known for thought provoking art pieces surrounding climate change. Their mission is not so much to take a political stand, but to lead people into conversation about our place in the world. Their works asks the question: "how can we become more conscious towards how our actions affect Nature and our climate."

Flown in from Sweden

The large solar egg sauna flew in from Sweden to Minneapolis, Saint Paul. This is an amazing feat in its own way. Re assembling this sauna requires thousands of screws and intricate fittings.

As a sauna builder, and knowing that many listeners to Sauna Talk have also built their own saunas, we appreciate the details behind this sauna built. In this case, we have a sauna of unique and grand magnitude: a 16′ tall ornately scaled and supported Golden Egg Sauna.

Come sauna in the Solar Egg Sauna

Thanks to the American Swedish Institute for bringing this beautiful art piece to the United States. Interested in reserving a Solar Egg sauna session? Register here:
Cost: $30-$35 for a half-hour.
When: Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday through April 28.
Info: asimn.org/solareggsauna.

For those attending, bring a pair of sandals, a towel, and an openness for conversation on the sauna bench. The artists created this egg as "an incubator of ideas, as a poetic metaphor."

So, let's take a step into the Solar Egg Sauna and visit with the two artists and the two builders behind this beautiful thought provoking and conversation inspiring art installation.