JOURNALS

About the work of
Anniken Amundsen

Machiko Agano

I cannot believe that five years have passed since I first met Anniken, how time flies.  Before I actually met her I had an impression that she was a calm sort of person, someone who might suit blue. Yet when I started working with her I found her a passionate person, someone who would suit the colour red. Anniken's works are much like her personality, both full of passion (emotion) and yet calm (logical).

On the one hand, her works are reminiscent of living creatures, developing organically out of the extremely sensuous, expressive world of awe and wonder towards a powerful force beyond human control gained from her personal experiences.

Then again, by the use of relatively expressionless transparent nylon thread as the main material, she creates a somewhat cool sense of distance, while the highly intricate weaving allows a strong yet rational construction.

It could be said that the mixture of these two factors gives an incredible depth to her works.

Over the last five years there have been many changes in her personal life. Perhaps the two most important events being the arrival of her beloved son, Lasse, and leaving London after many years residence and returning to her native Oslo. The feelings arising from building her family back in Oslo must have had a major influence on her works.  She says that she is turning more and more towards nature.  Red was a colour that often featured in her earlier works but in her new works she is apparently using more and more greens, representing nature;  I'm looking forward to seeing these new developments.

Machiko Agano