Adriana Alves Photo: Privat

When you arrive Bergen Kunsthall you will be met by yellow silk flags. Master student Ida Westberg, sets the impression of the Master exhibition with this traditional warning for ships with infection onboard.

Curator for the exhibition called:a little larger than the entire universe is Adriana Alves. In the exhibition catalogue she quotes the main character of the film Interstellar, who says: We used to look up at the sky and wonder at our place in the stars. Now we just look down, and worry about our place in the dirt.

– The artists in this exhibition do both, they look up and look down. The exhibition is not just a result, but a celebration of their brilliance, dedication and hard work, says Alves. She is not the only only who feels that way, as the exhibition got a very positive review in regional newspaper Bergens Tidende.  These days, Alves works at the Art Academy - Department of Contemporary Art, as Assistant Professor in New Media. With her background from Khib (Kunsthøgskolen i Bergen, befordre UiB), she has much experience as a curator, producer and performing artist.

How has it been like to work on this exhibition?

– It has been exciting and challenging. This is a group exhibition where all the participants’ common ground is that they have studied together. There are still some very interesting points of references; they all challenge this time and place. In Bergen Kunsthall we exhibit what they experience right here and right now. Another thing they all have in common is that they have been isolated in their workshops or apartments and been alone in their artistic research. The results shows you what they have been dreaming of, imagined or how they act through their visions.

A little larger than the entire universe exhibits works that are created or finished during the a pandemic. How is this affecting the exhibition?

– You can see this clearly in the exhibition catalogue. Many of the students have felt very isolated, most of them have been in Bergen, but have missed all of the social activities. Most of them say that they dream about traveling and has been occupied with the idea of traveling without the actually leaving. Therefore, the students have made a catalogue that contains post cards from all the projects in the exhibition. These post cards are meant to be small gifts or reproductions of the results. ‘Art is not restricted as we are, the art is free’, is the message.

– Some students have had to change their plans because of covid-19. One of them is Fergus Tibbs. His works are linked to collaborations, collectivism and establishment of community.In the second floor of the gallery, he has built a DIY (Do it yourself)-construction, a room within a room from leftovers from other exhibitions. A range of social activities were planned; everything from radio broadcasting to chess games, dinner parties and performances.
- Unfortunately, a lot of these things could not go as planned. Even the chess game was difficult when the 2 meters rule was announced.

Has it been hard to follow up the students?

– Yes, but luckily I’ve been able to come to uni and visit the students studios and meet them through Zoom. This is a quite big exhibition with a lot of participants. We started working together in January when the projects were far from finished. Even just before the opening, some projects could now be transported because the paint was still wet. In addition to this a lot of students , like for example Sigrid Lerche, had to change her project completely.

Can you tell us a bit about the title of the exhibition?

– It is the title of a collection of poems by Fernando Pessoa. We found it together, the students and I, and it was voted for with two other options. In the catalogue we decided to print facsimiles of existing literary works. This idea was suggested by the students. They thought about how they could travel with no limitations. It felt natural to use this method in the title.

How have you worked with putting together so many different results?

– It has been impossible to make groups of works based on conceptual frameworks, therefore we have been working more with functions in the room. So many works have develop during this period of time, so it has been challenging yet fun to link them all together. Also, the diversity has been important and makes the exhibition very exciting. I’ve thought a lot about spreading the works around to balance the width and think about space and room.

   

   

Now.. To the inevitable question; Do you see any trends?

– Haha, well, there are a lot of painters, maybe that is some sort of trend. The way I see it, most of the works has something sincere about them. There is little cynicism. In hall 4, I have placed works that can be experience as personal and introvert. These works need peace and quiet around them. Madihe Gharibi from Iran has for example made a sculptural video installation in the shape of a confessional. She works with guilt on leaving her home country. The works is personal, political and intimately. In the same room you will find Sanna Frostensson’s installation, Practicing life. She has studied theology and philosophy and works with establishing a way of connecting philosophy and performing arts.

– The exhibition also talk about important political issues. While Wiktoria Gazda is dealing with todays sociopolitical situation in Poland, Sigrid Lerche works with gender topics through a live performing cam girl via a website with sexual content. Terje Abusdal also works political. He is already established within art photography and recently had an exhibition in Hammerfest showing his work from the master. He is working with the presence and absence of the coastal Sami people, and is dealing with assimilation policies. As well as using photos and video, he presents a sound installation where the coastal Sami words and sayings, with Norwegian translations, are played through some olde Russian speakers. The length of the recorded sound is as long the the King’s speech during the opening of the Sami Parliament in 1997, an official apologies for the assimilation policies.

Whilst looking at the presentation of the results, do they tend to talk to the past?

– Yes, Sigrún Hlín Sigurðardóttir is for example, participating with a knitted textile work. It works as a dialogue between medieval prophecies and narrative of todays doomsday narratives. Part of it is knitted after wood cut from Icelandic churches, like for example a very sweet satan. Also, Alex Hamish Millars speculative archive connects science and the supernatural. In the project the Bjerknes Centre of Climate Research and quantum physics connected through conspiracy theories. I believe this work is very relevant in the ongoing debate on «fake news». 

In the exhibition text it says: Depending on infection control and restrictions, the exhibition can either create a social air lock in a time with limitations and social distancing; or stand as a dynamic monument for the dream of a near future where collectivism, collaboration and social activities are the glue of the sense of community. If you have to pick; social air lock or dynamic monument?

– I believe the utopian aspect will be a part of the exhibitions anyways. The question is if the exhibition will work as an air lock in a time affected by social distancing. So far, everything has been better than expected. That gives us some hope.