Norsko

Living Through the Landscape

Autor
Ivar Smedstad
Kdy
20. září 2015 - 30. září 2015

The Norwegian part of the project will encompass a 10-day expedition/workshop with artists from all three participating countries in the county of Finnmark in northern Norway from 20 to 30 September, 2015.

The focus of the expedition will be on mining activity in the region and its effect on the local landscape. Both the current and previous Norwegian governments have funded initiatives aimed at surveying mineral deposits and their suitability for mining ventures, resulting in heated debates regarding a renewed interest in the exploitation of minerals, especially in the north.

Recently, plans to allow the waste from a proposed mining operation to be deposited in the Førde fjord in the west of Norway have made headlines in both the Norwegian and international press. Elsewhere, such as in Biedjovággi in Finnmark, the ecological damage from open-pit mining is still being felt 40 years after the closure of mining operations. Plans to once again start mining in Biedjovággi as consequence of soaring gold prices highlight the complexity of issues relating to the exploitation of minerals and a globalized economy, covering intersecting social, economic and ecological concerns.

Similar debates have arisen in regard to the Reppar fjord, also in Finnmark. Waste from nearby underground mining was dumped into the fjord in the early 1970s, causing damage to fish stocks, thereby affecting the livelihoods of local fishermen. Renewed interest in mining copper in the area has started new debates on the environmental impact of depositing waste in the fjord.

On one hand, mining companies need to keep costs down to stay competitive, and rural communities are often in dire need of jobs and investment to bolster the local economy. On the other hand, such initiatives have frequently caused extensive environmental damage and infringements of the rights of indigenous populations. By visiting the region and meeting with locals as well as experts, the Norwegian portion of Frontiers of Solitude aims to contribute to a public awareness of environmental and cultural issues that are both local and globalized.

Frontiers of Solitude is an extension of Atelier Nord’s previous engagement with issues related to the north of Norway in the video program Beyond Horizons.

Program

20 September
Oslo departure - arrival in Alta/Alta Airport (ALF)

21 September
Kautokeino
Biedjovággi mine

22 September
Biedjovággi mine

23 September
Biedjovággi mine

24 September
from Kautokeino to Karasjok
Visit to Sami Center for Contemporary Art

25 September
Karasjok

26 September
Kvalsund - Repparfjord depot

27 September
Repparfjord

28 September
from Kvalsund to Hammerfest
Visit to Windmill development site
Evening program in Hammerfest Art Association/artist talks

29 September
Visit to Snøhvit petroleum field

30 September
from Hammerfest to Alta

program: Ivar Smedstad

Gunhild Enger, Iselin Linstad Hauge, Vladimír Merta, Alena Kotzmannová, Elvar Már Kjartansson, Monika Fryčová

External resources

  • Strategy for the mineral industry – Second Stoltenberg government, 2013 (Norwegian only).
  • gruve.info – Website about the environmental impact of mining in Norway, maintained by Svein Lund (Norwegian only).
  • Artic Gold – Mining company campaigning for renewed activity in Biedjovággi.
  • Nordic Mining – Mining company looking to deposit waste in the Fjørde fjord.
  • Nussir ASA – Mining company campaigning for copper extraction in Kvalsund/Reppar Fjord.
  • Article in the British newspaper The Guardian on the proposed dumping of waste in the Fjørde Fjord.
  • Norges Naturvernforbund (Friends of the Earth Norway)
Související obsah
Alena Kotzmannová, Finnmark, 2015

Alena Kotzmannová, Finnmark, 2015

Alena Kotzmannová

Alena Kotzmannová is a visual artist and photographer living and working in Prague. In her predominantly black-and-white photographs, Kotzmannová deals with the possibilities and paradoxes of the medium. …

malba větrem, wind drawing

malba větrem, wind drawing

Vladimír Merta

Vladimír Merta is an artist who belongs among the influential figures of the Czech Action art scene beginning in the 1980s, creating many performances in the landscape. …

Elvar Már Kjartansson, Crushing Birch. Video still, documentation of work in progress, 2015.

Elvar Már Kjartansson, Crushing Birch. Video still, documentation of work in progress, 2015.

Elvar Már Kjartansson

Elvar Már Kjartansson is a sound craftsman and explorer. Under the name of Auxpan he creates musical experiences in which soundbites, rhythmic patterns produced by self-developed devices, and field recordings come together in an experimental and highly personal sound experience. …

Monika Fryčová, Joik. Video still, 2015.

Monika Fryčová, Joik. Video still, 2015.

Monika Fryčová: Joik

Monika Fryčová is an audiovisual artist, performer, and writer. She frequently deals with mixed media and untranslatable experiences, trying to perform under their own rhythms – the Here and the Now – the search for the primal source constantly found, only to be deserted again. …

Marble Warble,  2016, 4:21, col, stereo. videostill

Marble Warble, 2016, 4:21, col, stereo. videostill

Ivar Smedstad

Ivar Smedstad is currently director of Atelier Nord, a media arts organization in Oslo. Ivar Smedstad has been working in video art and electronic media since the early 1980s and has participated in numerous international and national video art exhibitions, screenings and festivals. …

Linda Våge

Linda Våge is Office Manager at Atelier Nord. She has institutional background from Norwegian Association of Art Societies, Norwegian Concerts, Norwegian Refugee Council, Forum for Women and Development and from various fundraising campaigns, such as the annual NRK TV campaign. She has also worked as an independent consultant within public relations and cultural events. …

The Sydvaranger mine, Finnmark, photo: Iselin Lindstad, 2015

The Sydvaranger mine, Finnmark, photo: Iselin Lindstad, 2015

Iselin Linstad Hauge

Iselin Linstad Hauge works with film, text, photography and performance. Her work aims to develop a more sensitive awareness, highlighting the relationship between society and nature, with emphasis on the human-animal interaction. …

Gunhild Enger

Gunhild Enger is a filmmaker and visual artist. She graduated from the Edinburg College of Art, and the School of Film Directing in Gothenburg. She has been nominated for a BAFTA with her graduation film Bargain, and has since then screened her films at festivals and galleries around the world. Enger’s stories does often depict the humor latent in the dark corners of everyday life. …

Kautokeino, photo: Alena Kotzmannová

Kautokeino, photo: Alena Kotzmannová

Biedjovaggi, Finnmark, photo: Ivar Smedstad, 2015

Biedjovaggi, Finnmark, photo: Ivar Smedstad, 2015

in the landscape, Photo: Vladimír Merta

in the landscape, Photo: Vladimír Merta

in the landscape, Photo: Vladimír Merta

in the landscape, Photo: Vladimír Merta

Sami picnick,Photo: Vladimír Merta

Sami picnick,Photo: Vladimír Merta

Kautokeino, photo: Alena Kotzmannová

Kautokeino, photo: Alena Kotzmannová

Biedjovaggi, Finnmark, photo: Ivar Smedstad, 2015

Biedjovaggi, Finnmark, photo: Ivar Smedstad, 2015