Frodo recounts: “I started making these works in 2006, after seeing a hole dug in the centre of Copenhagen full of bones and skulls of people dead at the time of the Black Death, around 1350. I later shifted my gaze to the houses that had been built over those remains and so I thought, life really is a spinning wheel and goes on and on, and we are at its mercy. One day we will die, and yet there will be a new beginning for our skulls … “.
That Frodo Mikkelsen is an artist out of the box you can tell at first glance. Heavily tattooed and proud of it, Mikkelsen was born in Copenhagen in 1974 and he still continues to live and work in this city. Multifaceted and gifted with many talents, he busies himself with painting, sculpture and graphics, drifting into land art and mail art. Among all his works, however, the metal skulls make the greatest impression on eye and mind. These are small three-dimensional objects with painstaking attention to detail, because each of them is unique and unrepeatable. Mikkelsen exploits human or animal skulls as the basis for small landscapes that, in contrast to the unvarnished anatomy of their support, convey different emotions ranging from peace, the sense of everyday life, quiet and – in some cases – they make us even smile. The miniatures are made with small toys and ornaments found at flea markets. Once assembled, the sculptures are silver plated to take on their shiny final appearance.