My childhood in the 1980s consisted of hours we had to fill with content ourselves – with toys, books and inventions. Today, it is not just the children who overwhelm every free moment with digital impressions and impulses. Adults can no longer just sit on the bus, stand in the lift or in a queue and think for a bit. We always have to pick up our phone and check the news, an email, an app or something else. It is like a disease of time. We no longer have tolerance for either silence or boredom. SHORT DURATION: Sjøvold’s exhibition takes place in the Gyldenpris art gallery in Bergen and lasts for just over two weeks, between 25 May and 10 June. Photo: Tonje Bøe Birkeland/Gyldenpris Kunsthall Photo: Marie Sjøvold Photo: TONJE BØE BIRKELAND/GYLDENPRIS KUNSTHALL In the summer of 2018, the artist Marie Sjøvold took a radical step. She logged off all social platforms, media and apps, and got herself an old-fashioned push-button phone. With the phone, she could call and send text messages. She could also check e-mail on the computer. But apart from this, she decided to disconnect from the digital world for a whole year. Every time she reached for her phone out of habit, she took a picture instead. From the vast visual material that she created, she has now carefully selected a series that will be shown through a book and an exhibition. PLAY OF LIGHT: Far too rarely do we remember to stop and just look at the light that falls obliquely through the window and study how it transforms the room. Photo: Marie Sjøvold FASCINATING: I stand for a long time fascinated by this picture. The beautiful morning light falling on bedclothes on a sofa. At first I just think it’s a pile of duvets before I sense the outline of a body under the sheets. Photo: Marie Sjøvold A picture of a still time Marie Sjøvold’s photographs look good in the open, bright, rather run-down art gallery. The exhibition is only lit by natural daylight, which works very well with the images, where light also plays a leading role. A photograph that truly captures the experience of still time depicts a darkened bedroom with a rectangular window. The damp, pale daylight penetrates the fog, which blocks the view. CLAUSTROPHOBIA: Here, Sjøvold manages to portray an almost unpleasant experience of silence. Photo: Marie Sjøvold The fact that we cannot see out gives a claustrophobic feeling. Perhaps this lack of visibility is an image of the loss of digital visibility: the social media window into people’s private sphere that has been abruptly closed. I would like to think that at first it brought a sense of loss, followed by a deep sense of relief. SEE: Marie Sjøvold was a professional judge in the reality competition “Mobilfotografene” on news TV. Attentive presence The photographs are characterized by attentive presence, a meditative interest in the everyday moment. In our social media reality, we take pictures all the time. We hunt for the spectacular and the photogenic. Sjøvold tries to stop at what at first glance may not be so remarkable, the small experiences that are in danger of being drowned in all the media noise that surrounds us. CONTACT: Entrenched behind our multiple layers of screens, we can forget the joy of reaching out and touching each other. Stroke someone’s cheek, or run your hand through someone’s hair. I like this sensuous image of a child’s sun-bleached locks against summer tanned skin. Photo: Marie Sjøvold It can be something as simple as a lock of hair falling over a child’s shoulders, or the golden evening light drawing its pattern on the wall. I think that Marie Sjøvold is a kind of painter who draws with light in her photographs. I like her quiet poetic images, and the interesting and precariously current concept. We need this reminder that silence must be allowed to have a place for reality. AU: Touching something – for example, stabbing yourself on a cactus, these are the kind of sensory experiences that we have fewer and fewer of in our screen reality. Most of our impressions are digital. It’s kind of sad to think about it. Photo: Marie Sjøvold If you don’t want to do like Sjøvold, to relax for a whole year, you can see how nice it is to at least try it for a little while. Put the phone away, turn off the PC and take the earplugs out of your ears, and just be present. Listen and look at what is around you here and now. A good start to such a project is to go to the Gyldenpris in Bergen and see Marie Sjøvold’s exhibition. news reviews Photo: Marie Sjøvold/Gyldenpris art gallery Title: “How much silence can you stand?” Artist: Marie Sjøvold Location: Gyldenpris art gallery, Bergen Period: 25 May–10 June 2023 Time you should set aside: 20-45 minutes
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“How much silence can you stand?” by Marie Sjøvold at Gyldenpris art gallery, Bergen – Reviews and recommendations
