The great floods formed the starting point for the very first civilizations. The river is an ancient symbol of life itself, as it drifts away with us, like a great flood of hours, days, months and years. Over the centuries, the river as a motif has played an important role in both literature and art. Perhaps it is these large, wide perspectives that make me so excited and expectant as I sprint towards Tjuvholmen to see this autumn’s big exhibition at the Astrup Fearnley Museum. THOUGHTFUL: This is a work full of exciting considerations about different cultures and society’s relationship to basic natural resources, by Marjetica Potrč. In the wall drawing, she thematizes the vulnerability of the Australian Lachlan River. Photo: Christian Øen LISTEN: Sculptures inspired by old listening devices that were used during the Second World War to hear enemy planes or the like have been transformed into sound sculptures where you hear birds chirping. Exciting, but a bit far to the river here too. Photo: Christian Øen GREEN FEATURE: In this fascinating project, Hickham Berrada will show the plant Mesk Elill, which only blooms at night. With illuminated display cases, he gives people the opportunity to see and smell the beautiful, fragrant jasmine plant during the day. Photo: Christian Øen BIG VARIATION: The French artist Axel Ayed creates abstract images of canvas. In the foreground we see the work of Afro-American Senga Nugudi, who creates sculptures created from colored water. Photo: Christian Øen AMERICAN ARTIST: Senga Nugudi explores the sculptural potential of water and its physicality. Photo: Christian Øen Some great highlights “Between Rivers” is the title. Here, a handful of contemporary artists approach the river from different angles, “both as image, experience and process”, as stated in the press release. And this is an idea I like! I am generally excited about thematic exhibitions, and think far too few curators venture into this demanding genre. I can understand that people are reluctant, because it is really difficult to say something overall through the chorus of selected artistic voices. There is much that succeeds in the exhibition “Between Rivers”, but as I wander through the halls, there are several works that I don’t think fit in very well with the theme. But first let me highlight some really great examples – which do it to the highest degree. One of the first things that meets us is American Zoe Leonard’s analogue photo series “Til elven”. Here she explores the landscape along the Rio Grande. A simple and charged examination of the river’s duality, both as a beautiful piece of nature, but also as the physical border between the United States and Mexico. “TO THE RIVER”: Zoe Leonard’s project where she has photographed the landscape along the Rio Grande river. The place where people bathe and enjoy themselves, but also a piece of charged political landscape, like the border between Mexico and the United States. Photo: Christian Øen With soil as material The renowned Colombian artist Delcy Morelos is also represented in the exhibition. Morelos is known for creating monumental works with earth as material, including the powerful installation “Earthly Paradise” at the Venice Biennale in 2022. Through a whole series of earth projects, she has focused on the soil as almost sacred, and as an eternal starting point for growth and life processes. At the Astrup Fearnley Museum, Morelos has created a work on a slightly smaller scale than usual. Here she bases herself on soil taken from the Glomma, which is Norway’s longest river, and which throughout history has been an important waterway for, among other things, the floating of timber. She has had an inclined shaft built where soil filled with remains of dry hay covers the walls and floor. There is something sensuous and delightful about the underground cave, with the earth carrying the memory of the river in the form of physical remains. On speaking terms with the past Another undoubted highlight of the exhibition is James Webb’s conversation with an ancient Chinese vase. ONE-WAY COMMUNICATION: The Yellow River where this vase was found is often called the cradle of Chinese civilization. James Webb poses open-ended questions to the vase that are met by long stretches of silence. I like how Webb weaves together text and found objects. Photo: Christian Øen In the room, the beautiful 4,000-year-old clay pot stands on a plinth. It was excavated from the Yellow River in China, or the Huang River. Over the public address system, open-ended questions are addressed to this ancient object, followed by silence. This is how Webb tries to show how little we can really know about the distant, unwritten prehistory. In other words, there are many very interesting works in the exhibition, which connect to the river as reality, phenomenon and symbol in various exciting ways. The fear of being understood? Nevertheless, I leave the museum with the feeling that one has not been able to get the full benefit of this very interesting and stimulating topic. A little too many projects simply fall a little on the outside. This applies to, among other things, Hickham Berrada’s display case with fragrant night plants, French Axel Ayed’s strong-form “paintings” made of sailcloth, Norwegian Cato Løland’s beautiful textile sculptures and Indian Reena Saini Kallat’s fun and interesting sound installations. These projects are each strong and exciting, but I find the connection to the river tenuous. My impression is that many curators are anxious to create too clear a connection between thematic framework and work. Perhaps it is about the art scene’s fundamental resistance to making things understandable and accessible. The eternal question that seems to torment the curators is: Can it be academically exciting if the public actually understands it? I believe this is based on a completely unfounded fear. If you choose the right works of art, there is no need to obscure things with unclear connections and complicating detours. The aforementioned highlights of this exhibition are brilliant examples of just that. If the river is the theme, then by all means tackle works that connect to it, either as a piece of nature, a powerful symbol, or a picture of a living process. The more indirectly the works relate to the theme, the more the overall experience is in danger of disintegrating. But in “Between Rivers” there is certainly a sufficient number of works with interesting and clear links to the frame to save the exhibition as a whole. news reviews Title: “Between Rivers” Curator: Owen Martin Institution: Astrup Fearnley Museum City: Oslo Period: 18.10.2024–12.1.2025 Estimated time: 50 – 70 minutes Published 22.10.2024, at 21.00
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“Between Rivers” at the Astrup Fearnley Museum – news Culture and entertainment
