JOURNALS

Yuka in Norway, March 2009

The sun, the atmosphere and the force of gravity   

Thin ice. When Yuka came to Norway for the first time at the end of July 2008 it was high summer and very hot. The first thing we did was to go down to the beach for a swim. In the meantime we have had an exceptionally snowy winter and at this time of the year, the end of March, we in the Far North are looking forward to springtime, sunshine and warmth. Yuka paid her second visit to Norway on 29th March 2009 in connection with the opening of the exhibition at Gallleri F15 on 4th April. On this occasion too the sun was high in the firmament and once again we went down to the beach. From my studio I can walk to the shore of the Oslo Fjord where the ice is very thick in the wintertime. You can set out across the ice on foot, on skis or on skates; and you can even go fishing or cycling far from the shore. A few daring people were still venturing out onto the ice that Sunday in late March, but we stopped for safety’s sake at the far end of a mooring jetty for pleasure boats. Once the sun starts to shine strongly the ice is no longer safe.

Snow. I had hoped that the sun would melt the snow in the garden at Galleri F15. Assembly of the outdoor exhibits round the gallery was well under way. My two outdoor works, which should have been installed the week before, had been delayed due to the snow. The lawn had to be cleared of snow first and the ground ought really to have been free of frost. One of the works ”Link,” a sculpture that had to be hoisted into position by crane, was not a problem; but the other one was an installation that had to be firmly bedded deep into the lawn. Furthermore, additional work had to be done regarding positioning in relation to the space and the elements. I had not expected to see so much snow, and I soon discovered how it could affect one’s comprehension of space, surroundings and distance. 

Perspective. One day when I was at Galleri F15 in early January I came across some of last autumn’s windfalls lying on the lawn beneath the apple trees. This was before it had begun to snow in earnest, and the fruit had only a thin covering of snow. After I had walked around and taken a few photos while looking down at the ground, I chanced to look up. Galleri F 15 is surrounded by many ancient trees, both in the garden and in the woods. That particular January afternoon it was very warm for the time of year – almost like a spring day. The sky was cloudless and the shafts of sunlight striking the trees were intense and almost artificial. I continued taking pictures while looking straight up into the treetops.
When next I looked straight down through a camera lens a few weeks later I was on the 53rd floor of a hotel in Tokyo. I couldn’t help thinking how important it is to travel and change perspective in order to gain new experiences that lead to fresh thoughts. What are the things that are of real significance?

”Parterre/Fragments”. These pictures of the trees, the apples and Tokyo are printed in blue on 49 sheets of aluminium mounted on the grass, just off the ground, with each one slightly skewed in relation to the base. When the light shines on the pictures from a certain angle, the colours and subjects dissolve – the surface turns to ice or water as you move around. You look down at the apples and the metropolis – as well as the trees at which you are gazing up above – at one and the same time. In time the grass will grow between the pictures. (Parterre means “on the ground.” In horticulture the term refers to the geometric arrangement of hedges. “Fragments” could be something that disintegrates or falls apart.)

”Link,” a work over seven metres in height, is made of textile with a steel core. An infinitely long strip of white material is wound round the core to form a spiral pattern. Narrow in shape, yet varying in cross-section, the form is slightly reminiscent of an hourglass. Standing between the ground and a tree, the work looks as if it is supporting one of the branches. But when the wind blows slightly, it starts to move and appears to be just as fragile as the ancient tree. In this part of the garden there is a cluster of robinia trees which unfortunately are starting to get very old. On two occasions last winter some branches and trunks from these trees had to be cut down due to age. At this time of the year the ground is covered by various flowers such as snowdrops and scilla growing between the trees. In the summertime the leaves of the trees form entrancing patterns against the sky when you gaze upwards. This place, out in the garden, resembles a miniature universe – a conjunction of natural landscape and trees from North America originally planted as part of a cultivated garden.   

Kawai/Schjølberg, "Precious Field", detail. Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen

”Precious Field”. Inside the gallery, in a room with a view of the garden, Yuka and I have worked on a joint project. The floor of the main building at F15 is on the same level as the garden outside and the work therefore has a connection with the outdoors. Here we have made an installation which at first glance looks like rolls of translucent whitish netting – material that is also used for dust proofing as well as for sifting flour. Here the material has been cut into one very long strip then folded and placed on the floor so that each section appears to be a cylinder comprising a number of circles. The installation consists of ten cylinders with heights varying from 20 cm to 120 cm. By looking down into the cylinders, the inquisitive observer will discover that each of them has a pink centre. Each centre comprises various qualities of textile processed in differing handicraft techniques, such as pleating, felting, shibori, weaving, sewing, etc. These can appear to be hidden, protected or captured within the cylinders. The way in which the light seeps through the nylon netting is reminiscent of how light filters through Japanese paper windows (shoji). We chose the colour pink because of the way water that stays still in the depths, with no movement or current, tends to acquire a pinkish tone due to lack of oxygen. In a larger perspective, life on earth depends on the oceans having movement caused by the circulation of the water. Here the ice, the temperature and the force of gravity at the poles play an important part.

Precious. The people we meet, our friends, the art we create, work done by hand, what we feel and experience, the vibrant towns, all that grows, the shape of the trees, the sea, movement, music, the atmosphere, the force of gravity, the sun.