Hi, this post contains the newsletter from oct 2021 with the newsletter from nov 2020 added to the end (for the record)
october 2021 newsletter
last chance:
magasin 3 at Oslo Negativ
I was invited to create a light installation in the former main branch of the public library in Oslo, aka Det Gamle Biblioteket, as part of the large photo exhibition/festival Oslo Negativ. Maybe not an obvious match, but it was impossible to say no after having seen the former storage spaces for the books not shown in the public shelves. I worked in magasin 3. What is interesting is that the shelves continue on the floors below and above, so there is a gap in the floor and ceiling where light leaks through.
More than 7000 visitors have seen the exhibition before the last weekend October 22-24th.
more info at Oslo Negativ
featured:
Touching at a Distance
The one liner: a project aiming to create intimate experiences over distance using tangible and sensuous objects.
I wrote about this project in the previous newsletter last November, and have been spending a lot of time this year creating various prototype objects. The a pair of objects are connected together via the internet (but no computer is involved).
I have created six prototypes so far:
knock box: communicate with knocks over distance
kula: pass a ball between two spaces
puls: sense the heart beat of the other person
trigger bell: a bell rings in my home when you enter yours.
light to light: sense the light of one place and make it light up an object in another place.
flammen: I light a candle in my living room, a candle is lit in yours.
The video is a functional description of the objects communicating via internet, so please bear in mind that the objects in real use would be in separate locations.
Here is a short assembly video of the puls object:
It is still a bit unclear to me what this project is and how it can be presented. The most obvious to me at the moment is that these are objects to have at home to create the right context for these types of more or less intimate interactions.
You can read all about the project (including the prototypes mentioned) in the touching at a distance blog.
Two projects from the spring:
Nye Krigere
A collaboration with Pål Bøyesen and Future Daughter.
A performance piece that premiered at Rosendal Teater in Trondheim in March, centered around the relationship between an old and a young warrior, somewhere between samurai and Norwegian folklore. A performance where costumes, objects, set design, sound, music, light, video and projection were tightly integrated with the performers actions.
It was one of the more fun and rewarding collaborations I have had in a long time, and provided a much needed energy boost. The performance turned out really good and weird.
This was my first attempt at photogrammetry, creating 3d objects based on photos. Apart from the video content I also did projection and light design.
Here is a very short teaser we made before the premiere. It doesn´t really tell you much about the performance, but maybe a bit about the nature of the piece.
The Rise and Fall 2 at Festival of Light Art Geiranger
This pilot edition of the festival took place in the spectacular surroundings of Geiranger, a village placed by a narrow fjord surrounded by high mountains.
My work was the least nature-centric of the projects presented, being more of a dialogue with the structures of the Fjordsenter building.
The festival was a collaboration between the Geiranger World Heritage Foundation and Fjord Studio.
If you are in Oslo in the beginning of November be sure to check out another festival organised by Fjord Studio, Fjord Oslo
ongoing:
Vardø
This has been one of the projects that has been postponed many times during the pandemic, and I guess this has also influenced the direction of the project.
I first visited Vardø when I was making Barents (mare incognitum) for Dark Ecology in 2015, and fell in love with the place.
This time I have been invited by Nordnorsk Kunstersenter to do a projected in/related to Vardø.
I am not going to tell you what I will be making there yet, but I will give you a quick introduction to Vardø:
Vardø is the town closest to the Russian border in Norway and has a long history of trade with Russia. It was also, like all town in the Finnmark region, burnt to the ground by the Nazis at the end of World War 2.
It´s main resource is fishing, surrounded by the Barents Sea as it is. It is a small island, and it is connected to the main land via an undersea tunnel. Also very noticeable are the big radar domes operated by NATO. There are quite a lot of empty run-down houses, a sign of a community that has been struggling: people have moved because there are few jobs.
There are also many signs of optimism, epitomised by Kystopprøret (coastal rebellion) fighting for the right to the fishing resources (natural resources belong to the people).
upcoming:
solo exhibition at Møre og Romsdal Kunstsenter in Molde
On November 25th my exhibition opens at Møre og Romsdal Kunstsenter, with a mix of new and old work. Hopefully with one of my light drawer machines.
bonus:
If you are using spotify, I have a playlist with some of the music I have listened to during the year that I keep adding new tracks to.
Remember, if you really like someone´s music consider supporting them through bandcamp or similar as spotify still pays ridiculously little per play.
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newsletter nov 2020
Touching at a Distance
I am launching a new project and blog for a new long term project.
The ambition of the Touching at a Distance project is to create intimate experiences over distance using tangible and sensuous objects.
The project focuses on physical actions and tactile interfaces, and creates a bridge between people at different locations through physical objects, connected together via the internet. It removes screen, keyboard and the mouse as interface, acknowledging the vitality of bodily experience and human touch.
Read more about the ideas and plans for Touching at a Distance.
If you find this interesting be sure to subscribe to the blog (on smartphones select blog from the menu)
Shadowgrounds
In August and September (and most of October to recover) I spent a lot of time underground to create two large scale immersive installations in a former water reservoir (total area of 1000 square meters / 10750 square feet) by Semsvannet in Norway. It was part of Factory Light Festival which took place over three weekends.
As with my other site specific installations the works were created in and for the space. There were three qualities of the space that defined how I developed the works: The location (in the forest, underground, how you enter the space by first ascending then descending), the symmetric grid of pillars, and the long reverb of the sound.
Please have a look at the video documentation to get an impression of the two quite different spaces that emerged.
Left Hall:
Right hall:
upcoming
Vardø
a little delayed, but still preparing for a project in Vardø where I will do a series of Lidar portraits, and create a few ad hoc light installations in February. This project is an invitation from Nordnorsk Kunstnersenter.
Nye Krigere
A theatre production with premiere at Rosendal Teater in Trondheim in March, where I am contributing with light and projections for Pål Bøyesen and Øystein Kjørstad Fjeldbo´s creation Nye Krigere.
works in progress
light drawing machines
I am working on a series of light drawing machines: Using the same type of light absorbent surface as in radiant I am working on different ways of drawing on the surface with mechanical movement: One based on a vertical plotter, one using a LEDstrip and one using a customised vacuum robot.
microscope
I am working on several projects involving a microscope, among them a new moving platform for a new microscope film (I made rift in 2017).
Conversations with spaces 
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