The smelting plant

The tag says: 'takk for oss' a norwegian expression for 'good bye from all of us'!

Its about ten years now, since the last workers left the smelting plant in Odda, Norway. The abandoned buildings still stands and reminds us about a tough industrial reality made of concrete and iron. For about hundred years this plant was the cornerstone of a society deep inside the Hardangerfjord, surrounded by high mountains blocking the sunlight.

Destiny, I think, gives me a special relationship with Odda. I've never lived there, but stayed there several times and I think the place is fascinating. The abandoned smelting plant in the middle of town looks like an ancient dark throne of evil forces.

Inside, a carpet of grey sand and dust (probably a mixture of chalk and coal) makes the buildings look like you have entered a colourless post apocalyptic site with dead materials and no life.

   
Once, these buildings where filled with men, dirty and strong men, sweating over melted carbide pouring out of glowing owens. Now, it's cold and hard.

It seems odd to build an industrial smelting plant in Odda, the middle of nowhere, far away from practically everything. In addition there were no lime stone in the area, or coal, the main ingredients in calsium carbide. They shipped the the raw materials to Odda in tankers on the fjord.

In the beginning of the 20th century the reason was an unlimited source of cheap power produced by waterfalls. Calsium Carbide is produced by heating a lime and carbon mixture up to about 2100 degrees celcius. In 1906 the plant in Odda was the biggest Calsium Carbide plant in the world.



Vis større kart

5 pointz is gone, rest in power!

Photo: C.S. Muncy, The Village Voice

5 Pointz street art and graffiti was buffed over by white paint the night of 19 November 2013, without warning to artists and it came as a shock to fans of street art all over the world. The dispute about 5 pointz and the future have been going on for years, but now it seems to be over. The biggest outdoor street art gallery in the world is gone and the huge property and buildings in Long Island City (Queens) is now getting ready for demolition. New stores and luxury condos will be raised. The owner Jerry Wolkoff defended the overnightdestruction in interviews and told that "I know they're upset but it's over with. I can imagine going one piece, one piece, and then going through hell and torture to everybody," He said, and told further: "So I said, 'Let me do it one time, and end this torture one time'" The street art community is upset and called it an act of cruelty. More than 1500 pieces of street art and graffiti works was wiped out over night. I visited 5 pointz in september 2013. I took line 7 from grand central towards Queens and right after crossing east river an amazing view hit my eyes. There it was, the legendary 5 pointz.

5 pointz 19 of september 2013 (photo: o. m. eyra)

Below is how it looked like the the 19th of november 2013. The paintover was really sad news and the media photos showing the white walls were heart breaking.

Photo Wall Street Journal

 I am really happy that I got to see the art works before they dissapeared. Lets go a couple of months back and below is some of my photos from september 2013:

photo o.m.eyra

Work by Toofly photo o.m.eyra

photo o.m.eyra

photo o.m.eyra

 Work by Esteban Del Valle, photo o.m.eyra

photo o.m.eyra

Work by Jimmy C,  photo o.m.eyra

Works by Dis_Satisfied and Adub, photo o.m.eyra

photo o.m.eyra

Work by Dase (morc alvarez) photo o.m.eyra

Work by Onur Dinc, photo o.m.eyra

photo o.m.eyra

Work by Shiro, photo o.m.eyra

And there were so much more........Click on this link to see more of my instagram photos from 5 pointz online.

Artists have been painting on the property since the early 1990s, with permission from the Wolkoffs. In 2010,  the owners decided to demolish the building. Since then, Jonathan Cohen, also known as Meres One, and fellow curator Marie Cecile Flageul have been fighting a battle to save 5 pointz. 5 Pointz launched a lawsuit against the Wolkoffs, but the federal district court ruled in favour of the Wolkoffs and the decision to paint over the murals came just after Banksy held a month-long New York residency in October, which ended with him writing a brief comment on his website to "Save 5 Pointz."

M-city in control

M-city makes big stencil works and I guess he likes Norway. I've enjoyed his street art works in Bergen, Oslo and Stavanger. This year he painted the control tower at Stavanger Airport. What could be cooler? Well, he had permission and took it. I love the work.

M-city is Mariusz Waraz from Gdansk in Poland and have been a street artist for 18 years. His stencils are inspired by machinery, engines, industrial equipment, derelict factories and abandoned spaces. When he is not painting huge murals, he teach graphics at Gdansk's Academy of Fine Arts.

To vreate the the mural on the control tower he used 6 days in his studio,  created the image on the computer and cut out 51 stencil pieces. Then he took the rolls to Norway. It took him another 6 days to paint the 28 m high tower. The result is impressive.

The art work is beautiful and fits really well in the airport environment. The personell must be proud of their new tower and work place.  I wish that M-city could come back every year.