Celebration of life

Late summer, I was visiting  a friend in Oslo. The weather was great, the city was busy and we tried to find somewhere to eat at Karl Johan (Oslo main street). While waiting for food, I looked around and my attention was drawn towards a statue in the park across the street, and people's reactions to it and interaction with it.

The statue depicts the pagan god Pan and Pan was known for his sexual powers. So there he was in the middle Oslo with an erected organ and was getting a lot of attention from people passing by, young and old. A great photo opportunity.

I loved to sit and watch the 'buzz' and the playful interaction the statue created with it's 'audience'. So simple and joyful. A lot of neglected public art would envy this attention. The statue is a creation of Per Ung who died recently (2013). Per Ung was/is probably one of the greatest norwegian artists of our time and I guess that he would love to see his statue becoming 'alive' this way.  A celebration of life.

Time for NUART 2014

Tilt (Fr) installation at NuArt 2014

I'm back after a great weekend in Stavanger and the opening of the NuArt festival 2014. The event is one of the first street art festivals of it's kind and the biggest annual street art happening in Norway. The festival gather artists, media and street art enthusiasts from all over the world. The main venue is Tou Scene, a closed brewery right outside the centre, and there is street art outside, inside and around the city. In addition there are street art tours, discussion evenings, talks, movies, workshops and more. 

The line-up this year is:

Andreco (IT), Borondo (ES), Dotdotdot (NO), Etam Cru (PL), Fra.Biancoshock (IT), Icy & Sot (IR), John Fekner (US), Levalet (FR), M-City (PL), Martin Whatson (NO), Mathieu Tremblin (FR), SPY (ES), Strøk (NO), Tilt (FR), ± Maismenos ± (PT)

This year's strongest statement by the italian artist Fra.Biancoshock

A lot of text around

Works by Martin Whatson (right) and  Levalet (left

Works by Icy & Sot

Doing media work and PR is part of the game. A magazine is doing an article about Tilt :-)

Icy & Sot doing a street art work shop

Me

The exhibition will last all september and untill 12th of october this year. There are lots of works both inside and outside, and I will post more from the festival the in coming time.

Street Art and renewable energy at Utsira

The Lighthouse on Utsira is a landmark and the main attradction on the Island

While I was travelling in europe this summer, something happend on Utsira in Norway. Utsira is a small Island far out in the north sea and is the smallest municipal community in Norway. The population is about 215 on about 6 square kilometers (2 sq miles) land. The first days of august street artists from UK, Norway and Spain transformed the Island with their art. Stik (uk), JPS (uk), 3Fountains or 3F (uk), ATM (uk), Pichi&Avo (spain) and LaStaa (norway) painted on literally everything on the Island, e.g Stik painted on two 26 m high wind turbins and LaStaa painted two silo towers on a farm house.

Hopscotch by 3F or 3Fountains

TOROS: The Oslo Stew and the Utsira Lobster Soup! LaStaa transformed two farm house silos into soup boxes inpired by Warhol and Campbell's soup

Sheep with wool knittet with traditional patterns by LaStaa

The ferry trip to Utsira takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes. And just off the boat I'll meet this sheep from LaStaa. The ferry usually comes in on the northern part of the Island ( the northern bay) and I am heading for the south bay to "Sildaloftet" a hostel on the very South edge of the Island. The Island is perfect for biking and the is only one real road, and this road is the North - South connection. In addition there are a few small side roads. It takes about 10 - 15 minutes to cross the island by bike, but the street art along the way, requires several stops.



War victim by 3F (3Fountains)

Fox by JPS

Stencil work on a private house by 3F (3Fountains)

A heart constructor by 3F (3Fountains)

The white building is 'Sildaloftet', an old fish factory is now a great place to stay at Utsira. I'ts beautifully located on the south tip of the Island

View from 'Sildaloftet'. Work by LaStaa

Modalities of art! A coop by Pichi&avo and 3F (3Fountains)

Batman and Loki seen on 'Sildaloftet' by JPS

Girl in traditional costume, painting a traditional pattern in a traditional environment by LaStaa

At the south side of the Island, a small side road leads to the eastern part of the Island, toward the windmills. There is two wind turbins on the island and since 2004 the windmills have provided stable power supplies for 10 homes. I've heard that Stik has painted the towers of the turbins, but again several stops are made on the way.

Work by JPS

Work by 3F (3Fountains)

The artis ATM is known for painting endangered birds and Utsira is known for beeing a good place for birdwatching

Finally the towers comes up, bu it's quite a challenge to photograph the works by Stik because of the light from the sun created a strong baklight that day, but I tried.

tower 1 painted by Stik

Tower 2 painted by Stik

Windmills and windpower are becoming more and more common, and provide carbon dioxide free power. But the wind is unreliable, and stabile energy supplies are one of the preconditions for a sustainable society. So what do you do when the wind stops blowing? They have solved this problem at Utsira (on a small scale). Surplus wind energy is used to make hydrogen in an 'on-site' electrolyser. The manufactured hydrogen is compressed and stored in tanks, and when needed, fed into the plant’s fuel cell, or a hydrogenbased generator, to provide the homes with power until the wind resumes blowing. The plant is completely emissions free. The only residual is water. The significance of Utsira is that it’s a model for sustainable renewable energy supplies of the future, and the world’s first hydrogen society.

Work by LaStaa

Statoil is the main owner of the wind/hydrogen power plant and I wonder why this idea haven't been developed further at Utsira since 2004 and to other parts of norway. Our coastline is about 103,000 km long. My theory is of course that since Statoil is the major and biggest oil company in Norway, it's not in their interest to develop and use this technology 'big scale'.

After visiting the windmills, the trip goes west on the Island, to the lighthouses. They buildt two lighthouses around 1843 and one of them (the red lighthouse above) is still in use. The other one still stands, but is inactive.

The old lighthouse at Utsira

Inside the old lighthouse, LaStaa has made is own version of the official norwegian coat of arms were the lion holds an oil pump instead of an axe

Near the lighthouse, Pichi&Avo has painted a portrait of Usira's first female mayor: Aasa Helgesen (mayor from 1926 to 1928). The work is made after a bronze statue of the mayor.

I hade a great time on Utsira and the island is really beautiful. During my stay the weather conditions chaged rapidly, from sunny and warm to rain, thunder and strong wind. Climate can be harsh on the Island at times, I guess, but people I met was very friendly and welcoming. I photographed about 35 unique pieces of street art at the Island, some are unfortunatly gone because of demolition work and some I probably didn't find and are still there to discover.

Henningsvær: The Kavi Fac Ory and Pøbel

Pøbel at Kavi Fac Ory

The small village Henningsvær on the Lofoten Islands the is becoming a modern cultural engine in Norway. Henningsvær is far north, beyond the arctic circle with beautiful surroundings, short summers with light all day and night and long winters with darkness around the clock. People here have discovered the value of art and how art can inspire and bring energy to a society that have struggled with depopulation, lack of work and educational possibilities. Today, this part of norway experience a revitalisation and a modern art renaissance. Artists have known the area for centuries because of the beautiful nature and the extraordinary light up north, but they just stayed for a season or limited time and the local comunity or visitors didn't get the pleasure of enjoying the art or benefit from the art in any way.

A brand new Gallery, the Kavi Fac Ory, have turned that notion around. The gallery offers contemporary works, works from international artists like Ai Weiwei, Gilbert & George, Shirin Neshat and more. In addition they exhibit contemporary works from norwegian artist like Kjartan Slettemark, Bjarne Melgaard and Pål Vigeland. Street artists like Pøbel and Dolk have also found their way to Kavi Fac Ory. The Kavi Fac Ory has a unique location and offer experiences of art that never previously has been available to the area and rarely are available in such "off-the-grid" regions.

The old Kaviar Factory is an international venue for contemporary art

The rooms inside are light and comfortable

The Kavi Fac Ory has a unique location

Pøbel has changed the conception of street art as an urban phenomenon. The piece "In Cod we trust" is placed by the harbour of Henningsvær

Pøbel, from Stavanger in the south west of Norway, have developed a strong relation to the Lofoten Area and the Kavi Fac Ory. The Kavi Fac Ory is a bold project and I will visit again. When visiting the gallery, the owners were friendly and had a lot of time to talk about the art works, their project and art in general. That never happens in the city :-)

The Fisherman

The iconic painting 'The Fisherman' exists in thousands of norwegian homes and is considered as a norwegian icon, a part of our identity and coastal culture. A culture which now is threatened by the oil industry.

Some research into the background of the painting reveals that this painting has nothing to do with Norway. The painter of the original work was german and the potrayed man was dutch and not a fisherman at the time.

Some people love it and hail it as the best painting ever made, other think of it as kitch and worthless. It's popularity in Norway has never the less made the painting Iconic. "The Fisherman" was painted around 1920 by Harry Haerendel. Harry was born in Hamburg in 1896 and died in 1991. He studied painting in Hamburg and Berlin and travelled all over europe. The portrayed man is Dorus Rijkers, a dutch sea rescuer, a hero of his time. Dorus was honored for saving more than 500 people at sea. When he died at the age of 81, a parade with thousands of people participated in his funeral.

In 2014, Pøbel painted a modern version of "The Fisherman" in Henningsvær, Lofoten. His jacket is replaced with a immersion suite and his rain hat is replaced with a helmet. "The Fisherman 2014" is transformed into an oil worker.

His introvert character and rugged face, smoking tobacco while gazing towards the horizon, is still present, but the oil industry is moving towards the north of Norway and will this be the end of "The Fisherman"? The end of fishing communities and a culture that has fed europe for centuries?  By his work, Pøbel is challenging the the capitalists, the oil industry and the norwegian state on an important decision for the future of northern Norway.

Mr. Hmm??

Svolvær Lofoten

'Mr. Hmm??'  kind of strange alias for a street artist and I don't know much about him unless that he is a guy who lives in the Lofoten Area (Henningsvær), are a newcomer as street artist. His works is clearly inspired by Dolk and Pøbel and he doesn't deny 'stealing' from other artists.

Bus Shelter in Kabelvåg

The Nirvana Baby in Henningsvær

Mr Hmm?? may lack originality as an artist at this point, but he's got a fantastic environment to work in.   

The photographer in Henningsvær

Another photofrapher in Henningsvær

In 2008 Dolk and Pøbel began to explore the Lofoten area and began to make their 'urban art' in rural parts of Norway on abandoned houses in the amazing nature surroundings of Lofoten. The project became famous world wide. Their work has probably inspired Mr Hmm?? to begin his street art work.

Jesus shaves at a bus shelter in Henningsvær

Henningsvær

Buddha in Henningsvær

As far as I know, Mr Hmm?? is the most northern living street artist in europe, and hope he will develop as an artist, when it comes style and originality.