exhibition: soon around /udstilling: snart rundt
en:
Soon Around is a floating structure – an imaginary residence for a contemporary interpretation of a hermit – located in a fjord outside the village of Dale in western Norway. Dale is characterized by its imposing nature, nestled between agriculture, forests, the fjord and steep mountain slopes that rise above the village: a magnificent nature seemingly unaffected by mankind. But beneath the surface an intense conflict caused by human influence lurks.
During the Victorian era in the Mid-19th century, the phenomenon of Ornamental Hermits emerged. These were people who, by invitation, settled as hermits at grand estates, where they were provided board and lodging. They lived in backyards, in trees, perhaps in a self-built hut or a pavilion built for the occasion. Here they philosophized, engaged in open-minded thinking or other creative matters. On one hand, the hermits were put on display for guests and on the other hand they offered counselling and dispensed wisdom.
In our time, characterized by rationality and productivity, it may seem decadent, even immoral, to imagine a modern hermit. Yet there may be something useful in pursuing the seemingly pointless. As a secluded unit of a community that one takes part in and at the same is able to consider from the outside.
The structure Soon Around roams the fjord partly isolated from the village, anchored to a point in the water from which it flows in circles. Sometimes it approaches the village and becomes part of the community. Most often, it remains at a distance, as a stranger observing from the splashing surface.
The structure itself forms a circle consisting of 34 identical elements hinged together. Under the influence of waves, wind and currents, friction and collisions occur between the elements, and the circular shape gets affected by the natural elements. Instead of taming these or trying to overcome their forces, the modular structure capitulates to them.
The structure finds itself on boundary between what belongs to the inhabitants of Dale and what we perceive as belonging to nature. Thus, it connects the cultivated and the natural. The inherent will of nature unfolds in a man-made structure that allows its visitors to experience the village as a hermit would have experienced it; it provides the opportunity to meet the familiar with a new gaze.
The exhibition Dale Virtual Hermits is curated by architect and professor at Bergen School of Architecture, Thomas Wiesner. It took place in 2017 at ROM for Art and Architecture in Oslo, where four architectural ideas on conceptual hermits were presented. The work took place under a residency at NKD – Nordic Artist Center in Dale in the spring of 2016.
da:
Snart rundt er en flydende konstruktion – et tænkt ophold for en nutidig fortolkning af en eremit – beliggende i fjorden uden for landsbyen Dale i det vestlige Norge. Dale er kendetegnet ved sin imponerende natur, kilet inde mellem landbrug, skove, fjorden og stejle bjergskråninger, der rejser sig over byen. En storslået natur, der forekommer upåvirkelig, men under overfladen lurer en intens konflikt med menneskets påvirkninger.
I den Viktorianske verden, i midten af det 19. århundrede, opstod fænomenet Ornamentale Eremitter. Det var folk, der efter invitation slog sig ned som eneboere på større godser, hvor de modtog kost og logi. De boede i baghaven, i et træ, måske i en selvbygget hytte eller en til lejlighed opført pavillon. Her kunne de filosofere, sysle med skæv tænkning eller andet kreativt. Eremitterne var til for at lade sig bese, og måske endda give deres besyv med.
Det kan virke dekadent, endda umoralsk, at forestille sig en eremit i vor tid præget af rationalitet og produktivitet. Alligevel er der måske noget nyttigt i at dyrke det umiddelbart unyttige – som en afsondret del af et fællesskab, man både tager del i og samtidig betragter udefra.
Konstruktionen Snart rundt lever sit eget liv delvist isoleret fra landsbyen, forankret til et punkt i vandet, hvorfra det flyder i et stort cirkelslag. Nogle gange nærmer den sig landsbyen og bliver en del af samfundets liv. Oftest forbliver den på afstand, som en fremmed beskuer skvulpende i fjordens overflade.
I sig selv former konstruktionen også et stort cirkelslag bestående af 34 ens elementer, der er hængslet til hinanden. Under påvirkning af bølger, vind og havstrømme opstår der friktion og kollisioner mellem strukturens sammensatte elementer, og den cirkulære form påvirkes af elementernes vilje. I stedet for at tæmme disse viljer eller forsøge at overvinde naturens kræfter, giver cirklens modulerbare konstruktion efter for dem og følger påvirkninger.
Strukturen optræder i grænsefeltet mellem det, der tilhører beboerne i Dale, og det vi opfatter som en del af naturen. Således bygger den bro mellem det kultiverede og det naturlige. Naturens iboende vilje udfoldelses i en menneskeskabt struktur, der giver den besøgende mulighed for at opleve landsbyen som en eremit ville opleve den; en mulighed for at møde det velkendte med et andet blik.
Udstillingen Dale Virtual Hermits er kurateret af arkitekt og professor ved Bergen Arkitektskole, Thomas Wiesner. Den fandt sted i 2017 på ROM for Kunst og Arkitektur, hvor fire arkitektoniske udsagn om konceptuelle eremitter blev præsenteret. Arbejdet fandt sted under et residency ved NKD – Nordisk Kunstnarsenter i Dale i foråret 2016.
collaboration /samarbejde
Kim Lenschow
location /sted
Galleri ROM, Oslo, Norway
year /år
2017
curator /kurator
Thomas Wiesner & NKD
photography /fotografi
Mattias Josefsson
