After the Storm
2024
Size: 135 x 103 cm. Brass and copper wire, sea shells, stones and pieces of amber.
This grid is made of brass and copper wire in an organic«Art Nouveau» style, with sea shells, stones and tiny pieces of amber attached to it. Such pieces of amber are often found on the beaches around the Baltic Sea, especially after a storm.
This winter we had a lot of stormy weather where we live, on the North Western coast of Norway. That led me to the title «After the Storm,» also considering the political challenging period of time we are living in.
«After the storm» is a phrase often used to describe the period of hope and renewal after going through a turbulent time, a time of rebuilding and recovering.
Golden
2024
Size 97 x 100 cm, Wall hanging.
Brass and copper wire, metal thread embroideries, items made from the inside of mayonnaise tubes, metal tops on wine bottles, beer cans and various found items.
Plaiting.
As a young tapestry weaver in the 1970s I went on a study trip to visit the Gobelin Manufactory in Paris. During my stay I saw series of sophisticated, shimmering tapestries in museums, royal palaces and churches. Especially «The Lady and the Unicorn» in Musée de Cluny caught my interest, with its rich symbolism and renaissance appreciation for nature and harmony.
Despite different techniques and material, I feel the «Golden» series has a link to the tapestries I fell in love with in my youth. With the material I have at hand I try to bring out some medieval, though ever lasting, themes and mysteries in a contemporary way.
Enigma
2024
Size: 150 x 150 cm. Copper wire and various metal items, like metal capsules on wine bottles.
The Greek word«Enigma» means to «speak in riddles». This work of art is also mysterious and difficult to explain..It consists of quite different pieces, like metal capsules from wine bottles, figures cut out of aluminum foil, and various found objects.
Alu
2023
Size: 16 x 26 cm, series. Steel thread, steel and aluminium items
In between I make tests and smaller works. These works are with metal scraps: aluminum trash, figures cut out of beer cans, besides found objects. There are bits and pieces, each with their own story.
Tempus Fugit
2022
Size: 150 x 200 cm. Wall hanging. Copper wire and metal items, like remains from old watches and found objects, and items made from wine bottle tops and beer cans. Knitting and plaiting.
The Latin expression «Tempus Fugit»is pointing to the time that flies, and is often seen as embossing on watches.
It is often difficult to find the title for an artwork. However, «Tempus Fugit», «Time flies» came very easy.
As I am aging I do, like many others, have the feeling that time accelerates and moments pass quickly.
For me, I think working with art is an attempt to«slow down the perception of time», make time feel more substantial.
Fabel
2022
Size: 156 x 156 cm. Copper wire, metal objects. Knitting and plaiting.
In the folk tales animals often have human characteristics and communicate with the people, that this fabel with whales, bears, wolves and moose gives a hint about.
Sanctum
2020
Size: 245 x 120 Copper wire, metal object. Knitting and plaiting
In life we meet a cross when we have to choose between several directions, and it is a frequently used symbol in folklore and belief.
In Scandinavian folk art the cross with four equal arms was often on bridal coverlets or cloths that were used at rites of christening and burial. Such crosses are known to several pre-Christian cultures. I have also often seen them, with various additions, on my Orient travels.
Some scholars in these fields point at the static energy and the harmony of the equal arm cross, and consider it a sacral crossroad of vertical and horizontal dimensions, or even a symbol of «the sacred place « itself.
Pilgrim Kirin
2020
Size: 110×110 Material: Copper wire, metal objects.
In 2007 I went, with two colleges, on a pilgrimage, in Japan. We planned to walk on foot to the 88 Zen-Buddhist temples on Shikoku. However, after 24 temples, I strained my legs, and had to continue on my own by bus, train and careful walking. I got plenty of time to look around and pick up interesting items, like tabs from beverage cans. The Coca-Cola and Kirin (Japanese beer) vending-machines were everywhere, also in the temples. In retrospect they stand before me as inseparable parts of the sacred temples!
Pilgrim Folk
2020
Size: 45×75 Material: Copper wire, aluminium objects.
As a pilgrim you meet all sort of people: men and women, young and old, local people and travelers, priests and beggars. In this piece of art I have cut some profiles of people I have met, out of coca-cola and beer-cans.
Pilgrim Henro
2020
Size: 90×100 Material: Copper wire, metal objects.
To be a Henro, a pilgrim, means to follow the footsteps of Kobo-Daishi, the founder of Japanese Zen-Buddhism. You visit the old esoteric temples and historical villages and go back in time to the quiet, ancient Japan. For me it was a meeting with a foreign, strong culture and rich traditions, but also a meeting with my «deeper self», in this artwork all linked together.
Requiem
2017
Size: 175 X 275 Knitted copper wire, metal objects.
After my parents died, in 2013 and 2017, I wanted to make a memorial piece. My father worked with metal his whole life, making and installing engines for fishing boats. As knitting was my mothers favorite hobby, REQUIEM was made of knitted copper wire from my fathers metal workshop. It was combined with small items from their estate, as well as ring-pull tabs from beverage cans.
Libra 1 and Libra 2
2017
125 x 125 cm Iron wire, copper wire, metal objects. Knitting and plaiting.
I am using everyday material like buttons and ring-pull tabs from beverage cans, together with watch and jewelry items. They are all integrated into my web. Elevating the status of these man-made objects from worthless to worthwhile gives me comfort and joy!
Tori
2016
62 x 84 cm Copper wire, metal objects. Kitting and plaiting.
A small artwork that I made while I waited for my 7th grandchild to be born, her name is Tori.
Gemini
2016
Size: 100 x 120 Various metal wire, metal items. Plaiting.
Gemini was the first work made in in the «metal wire plaiting « technique. After my father died in 2013, I had to go through his belongings. He had been a mechanic and a metal worker, and in his workshop there was a lot of different wires and small metal objects. I got the idea to make something out of it, and started piecing the items together.
Ero
2016
50×120 cm Metal thread, plaited, metal objects.
Like gathering worldwide myths and experiences, collecting material and objects is an important part of my work process.
The recycle place reminds me a lot of the factory where my father and grandfather worked as mechanics, making and installing engines for fishing boats. There was a huge contrast between the dirty, gloomy locality and the shiny copper, bronze and steel that they were working with.
I pick the reddish wire from the electric cables and the dark colored from dynamos and motors. It makes me think of the copper material itself, being the first metal manipulated by humans. All the striving, the labor that has been done, and the technology that has been developed to produce this material fills me with awe and a feeling of being a part of it.
I like to think that when the material is removed from its context, some of its original spirit is remaining. There is a process, labor and history in the metal materials that inspire and gives meaning.
I am also using other low-valued material, like ring-pull tabs from beverage cans. They are made of aluminum. From being considered a precious metal that was even more valuable than gold, aluminum is today a cheap and frequently used material.
I work on the tabs with a hammer, like a goldsmith making a bracelet. Through this process, I want to have my work carry the power and the beauty that I find in these materials.
Elevating the status of the man-made objects from worthless to worthwhile gives me comfort and joy!
Stars still shining
2014
250 x 250 cm Buttons, paljets, metal thread.
When we look into the night sky we are seeing the light of billions of stars, overwhelming in number. It is also overwhelming to reflect on their distance from the earth.
Many of the stars we see are already dead, but are still shining. So we are looking into the past..