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Joke Painting (Why are conceptual artists painting again?) From 0047's homepage: Rykk tilbake til start! (trans. Return to start!) is divided into six different shows, each open to the public for four days. Firmly established names as well as fresh-out-of-school artists are represented, and together with writers and designers they make a surprising combination of expressions. With keywords such as experiment, process, speed and quantity, Christensen has encouraged the participants to show their sources of inspiration, sketches, shelved projects, prototypes and new ideas – everything but finished, polished projects made for the white cube. Projekt 0047 - - - |
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Bastard presents: Monumento Mori with Lina Viste Grønli, Lars Laumann, Anders Smebye, Marte Johnslien, Simon Rühle and Jan Bünnig. Curated by Anders Smebye. Lights On - Contemporary Art from Norway Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo
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One For The Books Curated by Marte Johnslien Lights On - Contemporary Art from Norway Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo
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La Preda (The Prey) An ongoing research and book-project about the Eritrean beauty Zeudi Araya, who went from being Miss Expo in 1969, representing the modern Ethiopia/Eritrea, to an actress who can now be looked at as the Black Venus of Italian cinema. The book includes the background story of the "La Preda" poster, and the development of the Asmara Expo, Eritrea. This project is a continuation of the Showgrounds book. I went to Asmara in Eritrea in January to carry on my research about the role of the Expo in modern Africa, and the material I found was intriguing. It turns out that the Expo Asmara, opened by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1969, had gone through monumental transformations since its birth. And the beauty queen Zeudi Araya the same. Their stories will be presented parallel in my upcoming book project, which I am hoping to launch in the fall 2008. Let there be light - - - |
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Showgrounds - the bookproject SHOWGROUNDS The book consists of photographs from the Agricultural and Commercial Showgrounds in central Lusaka, Zambia. The former British colony established the fair in this location in 1951, as a blueprint of the European Expos which were extremely popular in the early 20th century. The show was a spectacular demonstration of technology and construction work, in an imperialistic spirit that most Zambians felt excluded by. After independence in 1964, the Zambian people continued the practice of arranging an annual show on the premises. Rather than to bring the colonial custom to a close, the Showgrounds was adapted as their own. The idea of commercial progress and economic growth overshadowed the political significance of maintaining the tradition. The Showgrounds still get filled with people, animals, machinery, steam, smoke and music for one weekend every year. During the remaining days, the architecture makes the exposition; a silent account of its eclectic reality. I was based in Lusaka, Zambia in 2006 as part of the Oslo Lusaka Fine Art Fellowship. The social and political implications of living in Africa, in a British ex-colony, led me on an intricate route of research. The texts that accompany the photographs are fragments of historical and contemporary writings deriving from this. They involve trying to come to terms with the role of the artist in the age of globalization, and more generally, how the colonial legacy has shaped our notion of the non-Western. SHOWGROUNDS Launched at Sound of Mu, Oslo, 31st of August 2007 - - - |
 
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Norske Svik Project description During the night of 4th to 5th October 2005, shortly after the announcement of the closure of the Norske Skog paper mill in Skien, a group of workers climbed onto the factory roof and changed the words on the company’s name board from “Norske Skog” (Norwegian Forest) to “Norske Svik” (Norwegian Betrayal). By replacing the last three letters of the company’s name, the employees gave clear expression to their feelings at the time. The new sign could be seen from the east side of Skien, but was only allowed to stand for a single night. I took this illegal action as the starting point for my work at Tempo Skien 2007, an outdoor sculpture festival in Telemark. I reconstructed the sign Norske Svik and sunk it in the water of the harbour in the centre of Skien. On the axis of the papermill at Klosterøya, the sign can look like it has been carried there by the sea, and remaining submerged it will begin to decay during the course of the exhibition, which ends in October 2007. Union Fargekart - additional poster work to Norske Svik Another illegal action was carried out on the last day on which the machines were in use at the Union paper mill in Skien. An employee poured dye into the paper pulp, with the result that the final rolls of paper that were produced came out blue. The paper took on the symbolic colour of Norway’s capitalist conservatives – a clear expression of where the workers felt the value of the paper mill had ended up. In my poster work, Union Fargekart (Union Colour Chart), on show in a display case down by the harbour, I extrapolated the idea of a “blue” Union by creating a collage from a collection of different Union logos and signs. If we take the colour of the logos as a description of the political content of the word Union, then the poster illustrates how flexible that term can be. Tempo Skien 2007 Kunstnersenteret i Telemark Site-specific sculpture show - - - Pictures | Review, kunstkritikk.no (Norwegian only) |
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Let me move straight into history 2005 The tower was found in a parking lot in a suburb of Oslo. It originates from the Bislett Stadium, which was subject of political debate for a long time due to the question of preservation. The stadium was demolished against a lot of people's will in 2004. The tower's displacement inspired me to take it on a further journey, back to the people of Oslo, and back on a property owned by the city council. The tower is given a haunting role, a city ghost trapped within museum walls. Graduation Show National Academy of Fine Art Stenersen Museet, Oslo 2005 - - - Pictures |
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Let me move straight into history 2007 The story of the Bislett Stadium tower continues. It is back at the parking lot, winter 2007. - - - Pictures |
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Believe & Succeed Part l and Part ll The exhibition AKA Lusaka was a collaboration between Milumbe Haimbe, Anders Valde and myself. It took place in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, in 2006. We produced separate works dealing with the city architecture and public spaces, with the attempt to reveal hidden structures of the postcolonial city. I produced an installation in two parts titled Believe & Succeed. Believe & Succeed Part l consisted of a mural made out of vinyl, inspired by a photograph from Lusaka Cathedral. I was investigating how the commercial and spiritual blend in today's Zambia, and the mural became a mix between the two - miming a church mosaic with coloured vinyl from an advertising company. Part ll consisted of four photographs that have elements of both the commercial and spiritual, found in public spaces. "The phone that cheats" - a sign made by striking construction workers - became significant for me in the meeting with the powerless workman. AKA Lusaka With Milumbe Haimbe and Anders Valde Henry Tayali Gallery, Lusaka, Zambia - - - Pictures |
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Opptellingsur/Count-up clock A remake of an Olympic monument in the town square of Lillehammer. The original clock counted down the days, hours and minutes for two years to the opening of the XVII Olympic Games. My version was supposed to count up the days, hours and minutes from the Olympics finished. I wanted to remind the people of Lillehammer about the expectations everyone had to the event, and to linger on the time that passes since the games finished. After six days only someone kicked in parts of it, and two weeks later half of the monument was completely broken. Daisy '05 Kunstnersenteret i Oppland, Lillehammer Site-specific sculpture show - - - Pictures |
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Tear Pages. Have Them |
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Landscape |
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Landscape North |
