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Adjacent Structures: Room Equipped for a Future Workshop Mixed Media Installation. The setting for this work is people’s visions and dreams as a starting point for processes of change. The exhibition was designed as a workshop, and the local population was invited to participate in a two-day Future Workshop with the theme " Our Life and Work in Hamar Year 2015". The forum was supposed to function as a continuation of the exhibition’s works and to leave room for reflection on the towns future and peoples consumption patterns. Although the workshop progress is more structured and compact, it has similarities with an artistic process from idea to a finished work. What is fascinating about this type of meeting is that everyone gets a chance to share their thoughts through an open dialogue. The method cuts across hierarchical conditions and linguistic barriers, forming a democratic space where no one is able to dominate. During this process, the participants’ own ideas, wishes and dreams form the basis for tangible future images that will be further developed into plans of action for a new state. Regardless of background or status, being respected is a basic human need. In situations where we are seen and listened to, we will thrive and feel comfortable. A typical characteristic of power structures is that the will to challenge or renew an already established situation is not very strong. This is especially true of the asymmetric relationship between those in power and those that are not. "Democracies may appear to be working to follow up political commitments; but the actual degree of instrumental output and change may be another story altogether". (Lafferty, W., Ruud, A. Working paper no. 1/04 Green Innovation 2004). For this reason it is interesting to imagine that we can go beyond contrasts when people from different backgrounds meet and draw on each other. When Robert Jungk, future researcher, put this workshop idea into action in Germany at the end of the 50s, he wanted to try to give the "demos" (the people) an opportunity to participate in the political process in an intensive and imaginative way. Jungk found that such thought processes to a large degree are influenced by the surroundings, and this inspired me to create an alternative meeting place where form follows function – where aesthetics and communication work together. The installation Room Equipped for a Future Workshop was the setting for a forward-looking dialogue about the present situation and the future of Hamar. The interior had been made of plastic ropes on loan from a recycling company in Hedmark, Folldal Gjenvinning. When the exhibition was over, the materials were returned and recycled into new plastic products. There were placards hanging on the walls, on which the workshop participants and visitors could express their opinions. On both a metaphoric and tangible level, the installation was meant to function as a place to "start with a clean sheet". May 2004 The concept of sustainability derives from bio-economic studies where researchers are trying to define how much of a good we can consume without affecting the natural growth. If harvests are proportional to the ability of renewal, it is called a sustainable harvesting level, the opposite of this being impoverishment or extermination of a species. In the document Agenda 21 – "an agenda for the 21st century" it says: "The main reason why the global environment constantly deteriorates is the non-sustainable production and consumption pattern, especially in wealthy countries". The limits for how far we can go in exploiting different resources on a worldly basis are called "the ecological space". "The ecological share” indicates how much of these resources each of us can use if the distribution is to be as fair as possible. According to The Brundtland Commission, a consumption pattern is only sustainable if it is possible for all human beings to consume the same amount. Thus, Agenda 21 encourages local authorities, organisations and trade and industry in all countries to cooperate in developing separate plans of action for a joint future that comprises financial, social and ecological development. In the municipality Stavanger, the future workshop was used as part of the municipal planning. The inhabitants were invited to make future images of the city. The ideas were followed up with the creation of new tunnels, more greenery in the streets and new meeting places.
Crocheted mats and other elements made of plastic bags. "I read somewhere that Norway is the world’s largest consumer of plastic bags. When I visited an old fishing village in Norway farthest out into the sea, plastic rugs were spread around everywhere like small round islands – mats in the most amazing colours. I have collected plastic bags, cut them to strips and crocheted them. In every mat there are remnants of the most tangible material of everyday life, mixed with vague ideas about what is beautiful" Room for Meanings, Visions and Realisation (Crystal System 7: Modules) Print on vinyl banner. H: 300 cm. W: 295.9 cm. Mounted on a scaffold close to the railway station in Hamar. The sign displays a situation map where buildings along Hamar’s shoreline were replaced by 3D models based on crystallographic systems. 3D graphics by Ivar Kjellmo Laminated ink print on paper. H: 128 cm. W: 177 cm. Mouldings in aluminium. The chart depicts an architectonic model, based on crystallographic systems, seen from four angles. 3D graphics by Ivar Kjellmo. Plastic ropes from Folldal Gjenvinning. Furniture sculpture. 3 billboards. Various sheets and pens. World Radio. Three basement rooms shaped as a future workshop. Variable size. "Robert Jungk found that thought processes to a large degree are influenced by the surroundings, and this inspired me to create an alternative meeting place. Table with tetra hexagonal shape is a folding furniture that you can sit by, write on, lean on or make into an original form. Plastic ropes in different colours and dimensions are arranged like carpets, seating pads and ground pads. A4 sheets and felt-tip pens in different colours are available. The workshop participants and visitors could express their opinions on placards. A World Radio provides many possible soundscapes"
Translations by Vibeke Svingen. |
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