“Tragedy of the Commons” at the Jugendstilsenteret and KUBE – news Culture and entertainment

In Norway, we are very concerned about what is jointly owned – what we manage together. In short: our commons. The solidly rooted Norwegian common law is an expression of just that. When untouched nature shrinks, is destroyed and depleted, it is the community’s values ​​that disappear. This is what the exhibition “Tragedy of the Commons” is about. It is on display until mid-September at Kube in Ålesund. The exhibition embraces 14 artists who express themselves through different idioms and media. WRESTLING: Still from Geir Tore Holm’s film. Photo: Marius Beck Dahle/Viti An artist who goes very directly into this theme is Geir Tore Holm. He has created a film in which he has created a textual interweaving in Sami, based on interviews with everything from administrators and lawyers, historians and activists who in various ways feel affected by the Finnmark Act, which was adopted by the Storting in 2005. What Holm wants to show are the breaks, and the sometimes large distance between the intentions in the regulations, and the actual needs of the practical use of nature. I like the quiet meditative mood this movie has. Chatting teeth Terese Longva and Roar Sletteland take a slightly more subtle approach with their audiovisual installation “Talk to me” (2022/24), which consists of chattering glass jaws mounted on tall metal rods. FOR EYES AND EARS: Here you can hear the sound of clattering glass jaws in the artwork “Talk to me” by Terese Longva and Roar Sletteland. In the catalog it says that it is about “…how it is spoken incessantly, but without any kind of meaning or language emerging…”. In other words, a kind of blah-blah expression. I myself get completely different associations. The jaw is a powerful symbol of aggressiveness. Our teeth give us a predatory potential – they enable us to bite. But the jaw also has something timeless. The installation of colliding glass jaws also creates an interesting soundscape. Photo: Marius Beck Dahle/Viti. The teeth are the only exposed part of our skeleton, and the only sliver of our visible appearance that will remain when our bodies crumble away and disappear. The chattering teeth give associations to fear and frost, but also undoubtedly have a humorous touch. I like the many different ways into this project, but struggle a bit to spot the work’s connection to the overall exhibition theme. Making art from skulls I am very happy to find one of the magnificent textile sculptures by Finnish-Sámi artist Outi Pieskis “Beavvit – Rising Together” (2019). Pieski has specialized in making three-dimensional textile constructions consisting of shawl tassels, made with traditional Sami fringe technique. TWO WORLDS: Outi Pieski was born in 1973 to a Finnish mother and Sami father. She is from Helsinki, and also studied at the art academy there. Photo: Marius Beck Dahle/Viti I stand and stare up into the light rain of bright colours. In exciting ways, she weaves together two very different art regimes: The ancient Sami traditions, where art and craft permeate all everyday pursuits, and the Western modernist tradition where the artwork is somewhat detached and elevated. I like this tension in her idiom. Another Sami giant in the exhibition is Maret Anne Sara: Pile ó sapmi: Power Necklace (2017). Here she has created small reindeer skulls in porcelain, in an expression that lingers in the borderlands between a costume and a piece of jewellery. POWER NECKLACE: This expression was created as part of a larger artistic protest against the Norwegian authorities’ order to cull the reindeer populations in Finnmark. Photo: Marius Beck Dahle/Viti DIFFERENT VERSIONS: There are several works of art in the Pile o´ Sápmi series, such as this carpet of reindeer skulls with bullet holes which is permanently displayed in the foyer of the National Museum (in the background). Photo: Matti Aikio PROTEST: This series is a protest against the fact that the authorities believed that there were too many animals for the grazing area, and ordered the reindeer herders to agree on a culling plan among themselves. Photo: Vanja Ulfsnes / news This sprinkling of miniature skulls also creates a beautiful play of shadows. Maret Anne Sara is a master at combining the morbid and the poetic in her projects. Powerful protest A highlight of the exhibition is Cecilia Jonsson’s tidal project. The work was created as a silent protest against the sea disposal of mine waste in the Førdefjorden. In a film, we can see how she has strung up an old pink canvas in the pebbles with mountains and fjord as a magnificent backdrop. When the high tide comes, it erodes the color of the canvas and creates a beautiful picturesque pale green complementary contrast. The film shows how an almost Mark Rothko-like painting created by the sea itself slowly emerges. TIDE PROJECT: in this photo series you can see how the sea creates the painting. Photo: Cecilia Jonsson CHANGING: When the tide rises, the artwork changes. Photo: Cecilia Jonsson MARK ROTKHO-AKTIG: Finally, the artwork is reminiscent of a Mark Rotkho painting. Photo: Cecilia Jonsson AT THE EXHIBITION: The artwork on the wall during the exhibition. Photo: Marius Beck Dahle / Jugendstilsenteret and KUBE A little pasted on the theme I think the theme related to the community’s resources is both important and interesting. I also think the selection of works in the exhibition is characterized by a generally high quality. But I still can’t free myself from the feeling that the frame appears as a thought stuck on. The various artists do indeed problematize different aspects of the problem complex, but I don’t really get any sense of the theme as a living conversation between the various works in the exhibition. Here the curator could probably have helped us to see an even clearer thread through the whole. But as the sum of his strong works, “The Tragedy of the Commons” is undoubtedly still worth a visit. news reviews Photo: Marius Beck Dahle/Viti Title: “Tragedy of the Commons” Artists: Patricia Carolina, Geir Tore Holm, Cecilia Jonsson, Kamil Kak, Terese Longva & Roar Sletteland, Magnhild Øen Nordahl, Outi Pieski, Máret Ánne Sara, Istvan Virag, Jessica Williams, Brynhild Grødeland Winther, New Mineral Collective (Emilija Škarnulytė & Tanya Busse) Place: Jugendstilsenteret and KUBE, Ålesund Curator: Solfrid Otterholm Exhibition coordinator: Kenneth Alme, Jacqueline Meng Recommended time: 40 – 60 minutes When: 18 April to 15 September 2024 Published 09.07.2024, at 10.17



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