DESCRIPTION
My work has strong references in Still Life, Vanitas and Thanatology as metaphor . Vanitas is associated with still life painting, but its content has strong symbolic connotations. The elements of Vanitas convey the meaninglessness of earthly life. Symbols like skulls, rotten fruit and animals, watches, extinguished candles or musical instruments are intended to remind us about the certainty of death, (Memento Mori), temporality of earthly pleasures and mortality of organic life.
My images consists of staged dry plants and dead insects. There are several aspects of this dead scenography. On the one hand, there is an infinity of variations, fantastic shapes and visual directions – that is, “movements” of lines - on the other hand, one is confronted with decaying materials.
Nature does not save effort to shape the micro and macro worlds. Those staged motifs conceptualize the beauty of plants and insects which has no aesthetic value I everyday life. Wild plants and their extraordinary micro-forms scare me because I do not understand why such a masterful craft is just carpet on which I walk and trample on every day with my dirty shoes.
AUTHOR
Education: Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo, Norway master + 2 years master-studio
Exhibitions:
2016
Poetics of Thanatology (Photography), Juried Competition Winners Exhibition, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art
2015
South Norway Juried exibition 2015 - Poetics of Thanatology, Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall i Arendal, N
2014
"Beginia Rex Escargot" Commission (Light installation) at Høghås school, Notodden, Norway
South Norway Juried Exhibition 2014, Buen Kulturhus, Mandal, Flekkefjord Museum, Arendal Kunstforening og Skiens Kunstforening, Norway
2013
South Norway Juried exibition 2015 Spriten kunsthall, Norway
The Science of Confusion – Telemarksgalleri, Norway
2012
The Science of Confusion and Empathy. Making - an international Conference on Materiality and Knowledge, Norway
2011
DIGITAL 2011: The Alchemy of Change - 13th International Digital Print Competition/Exhibition, New York Hall of Science, USA
Still Life - Contemporary Photography Exhibitions, Gallery Black Box, Portland, USA
Terminated dialogue, Foajé Galleri, The University College of Southeast Norway
2008
The 809 International New Image Art Festival, Xiaoxi Tower, Yichang, China
The 5th Bangkok Experimental Film Festival, Bangkok, Phuket, Thailand
5th Naoussa International Short Film and Video Festival, Naoussa, Greece
AmBient Festival – video, Brescia, Italy
Video Art Festival Miden, Kalamata's Historic Centre Organisation, Kalamata, Greece
2006
Room for Room, Sørlandets kunstmuseum, Kristiansand Norway
