Passing Portals

Within Nordic folklore and folk belief, trees are often linked to nature spirits such as trolls, elves, and the ellefolk. They are also associated with healing and ritual practices, including guiding the sick through hollow trunks or hanging clothes on branches, in the belief that certain trees possess healing powers. Other myths speak of trees as sacred gateways or portals through which one can commune with spirits or even travel between worlds.

Passing Portals explores the relationship between humans, nature, and myth through a visual response inspired by the structure and form of myth. Centered on a collection of trees documented across Denmark since the 1980s, many with ritual or mythological ties, the project draws from archival research in the Folklore Archive at the Royal Danish Library.

Passing Portals is a project and journey between worlds, times, and ways of knowing. It is both a title and an invitation to step into a space where ancient trees murmur forgotten stories, and the deep roots of the nature of myth reach into the complexities of our present. With Passing Portals we invite you into a reflection and dialogue that stretches across time, connecting past, present and future. A place to pause and listen – to the archive, to the forest, to imagination, to intuition, and to the narratives that still echo with relevance within our collective cultural memory.

Project by Amalie Rask & Olivia Ringvei