PLANTS & PLANETS
The installation “PLANTS & PLANETS was made in 2018, during my first stay as a visiting artist at Awagami Factory in Japan. The assembly of pulp paintings, originally consisting of 60 elements, can be arranged to fit different exhibition spaces. This process was a unique opportunity to explore the magic of kozo. The pieces range from 30 to 100 cm in diameter.
DRIFTING GARDENS
I look out of my window. It is square, as is the computer screen I am working on right now. We are brainwashed with squares, so we take it for granted, as a natural shape. Of course, the underlaying pattern, connecting everything, is built on geometrical systems, on mathematics. But the world as we see it around us, except for man made objects, is organic and wild. The square feels neutral. I am accustomed to it, and I can relate to the square, as being in a room, inside a house. Outside is the garden, the woods, the open air with drifting clouds, everything part of Mother Earth. I always lived by the rim of the forest. It is a safe ground for me. So why do I go on making squares?
It is very different to work inside an organic shape. To do so I suppose I will have to rearrange a bit in my brain. My brain – or anything in my body – is not square, so it is about time. I started the process when working on the installation “Plants and Planets”, where I focused on geometrical shapes with organic content, and vice versa. I am aware of moving close to the circle here, another geometric challenge…
WAVES & WHIRLS
Fibers and water together are the direct voice of nature. The process is reflecting the pulse and the strong forces, – the fine balance we depend on for the future. Accepting the will and the voice of the pulp, when colored pulp is melting in, making waves when poured into the frame in certain patterns. Afterwards as little interference as possible, as in nature. Each pulp painting is (100 x 135) cm
COMING ALIVE
Life started in water. From the wet element our forecomers moved up to the land, adopting to the new challenges over time. Water is part of us, making each and one of us alive. On top of the chain we find the human species, in charge of development, in charge of ruining this complex system life is built upon. Ruining the water for gaining benefits at the expense of nature diversity. Every day our fellow creatures are suffering under our shortsighted handling, vanishing from the circle of life forever. We share our genes, and we all have the same right to life, as long as Mother Earth is offering it to us. The only specious responsible is the human. My images appear floating in water. I pour the kozo pulp into floating water, and during the process colors can be mixed, shaping natural forms. I use my senses, starting the dialogue with the floating material. Even my breath can change the image. The theme is the origin of life. Allowing colors to interact, I experiment and explore.
AXIS & SEDIMENTS
DREAMS & NIGHTMARES
Grinding bedlinen from different homes into fibers takes a while, and gives me plenty of time to reflect. The hidden stories carried in the fibers are now on their way to build new connections. The process is long and timeconsuming, as fabrics are torn into 3 cm wide stripes, handcut to squares with scissors, before I feed them into my hollander. After at least 6-7 hours they are good to go, depending on the fabric and how rough I want the fibers to be. When all colours are done, I am ready for the pulp painting process, mixing the fibers with water, and start pouring pulp into my paper frame.
The series “DREAMS” consists of 23 elements, each 60 x 40 cm. The pictures can work separately, or as assemblies.
The fibers for “Dreams and Nightmares” are grinded to a course, longfibered pulp, so the connection to textiles is clearly visible. This also adds depth to the surface. The rough expression is being strengthened by laquering both sides, so you can see through the layers. The organic feeling looks raw, as if the images are living their own life. As dreams are coming to us, sometimes like calm, pleasant experiences, or like wild nightmares bringing us out of control. As seen on the picture above, the artworks can be seen from both sides.
Diptyk: The dream building up, rolling from one image to the other.
Below: detail showing the relation between fabrics and paper.
BIRD´S EYE VIEW
A series of layered, large scale fiber panels titled BIRD´S EYE VIEW. The title refers to my approach during the work process, with the frame placed on the floor, while I walk around it – bend over, working from all sides, regarding it from above. Material: kozofibers in two layers, one coached on top of the other. Size: each panel measures 200×100 cm. Three of these artworks were delivered for a commission for Åsane highschool, Bergen summer 2020.
