Et oljeeventyr (an oil adventure/fairytale)
-ig was daar og daar was olie-
LIVESTOCK in collaboration with Karen Skog Orkester
25.-27. May 2011, TOU Scene, Stavanger
10.-11. June 2011, Studio USF, Bergen
'Ig was daar after di werlt haftet gefundet olie. Ig was ejn av di kinder di upgrowde med zwarte gould. Strieter was gefullt med olie. Overal hadden wi kanals waar det tikke zwarte substans blinkte in di sonskiejn.'
As a postmodern response to Asbjørnsen and Moe[1], LIVESTOCK investigate their own role in present day Norway where the concept det norske oljeeventyret[2], for a long time has connected industry and politics with metaphors from Norwegian history, mythology and folklore. Names such as Troll[3], Frigg[4] and Ormen Lange[5] carry visual and emotional associations to something believed to be ‘true Norwegian’, but are now adopted by the oil industry in the naming of oil- and gas fields. These new connections slowly bring the words into to a whole new field of meaning, while still carrying with them the strong feeling of national identity. In the deep waters between myth and fact LIVESTOCK find its artistic voice, by being two Norwegians and a Dutchman they investigate how this use of rhetorics has influenced their relation to oil, the state and the kingdom of Norway.
LIVESTOCK is in this project represented by Hanna Barfod, Susanne Irene Fjørtoft and Tijmen Legemaate. Karen Skog Orkester is the name of a visual art project where Karen Skog is building and playing wooden instruments constructed only from the knowledge of how an instrument looks, and with the means at hand. With her as musicians are Sivert Nicolai Nesbø and Erik Andreas Røkland. You can listen to their music at www.myspace.com/karenskogorkester.
Here you find a VIDEO of LIVESTOCK's own search for the black gold.
25.-27. May 2011, TOU Scene, Stavanger
10.-11. June 2011, Studio USF, Bergen
'Ig was daar after di werlt haftet gefundet olie. Ig was ejn av di kinder di upgrowde med zwarte gould. Strieter was gefullt med olie. Overal hadden wi kanals waar det tikke zwarte substans blinkte in di sonskiejn.'
As a postmodern response to Asbjørnsen and Moe[1], LIVESTOCK investigate their own role in present day Norway where the concept det norske oljeeventyret[2], for a long time has connected industry and politics with metaphors from Norwegian history, mythology and folklore. Names such as Troll[3], Frigg[4] and Ormen Lange[5] carry visual and emotional associations to something believed to be ‘true Norwegian’, but are now adopted by the oil industry in the naming of oil- and gas fields. These new connections slowly bring the words into to a whole new field of meaning, while still carrying with them the strong feeling of national identity. In the deep waters between myth and fact LIVESTOCK find its artistic voice, by being two Norwegians and a Dutchman they investigate how this use of rhetorics has influenced their relation to oil, the state and the kingdom of Norway.
LIVESTOCK is in this project represented by Hanna Barfod, Susanne Irene Fjørtoft and Tijmen Legemaate. Karen Skog Orkester is the name of a visual art project where Karen Skog is building and playing wooden instruments constructed only from the knowledge of how an instrument looks, and with the means at hand. With her as musicians are Sivert Nicolai Nesbø and Erik Andreas Røkland. You can listen to their music at www.myspace.com/karenskogorkester.
Here you find a VIDEO of LIVESTOCK's own search for the black gold.
Notes:
1. Asbjørnsen and Moe:
Refers to Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe who were collectors of Norwegian folklore in the 19th century.
2. Det norske oljeeventyret:
This can be translated as ‘a Norwegian oil adventure/fairy tale’, as the Norwegian word 'eventyr' can be translated both as adventure and fairy tale. This is also a well-known expression referring to the oil history of Norway.
3. Troll:
Originally: A supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore.
Now: A natural gas and oil field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, 100 kilometers north-west of Bergen.
4. Frigg:
Originally: A major goddess in Norse paganism. She is the wife of Odin and the queen of Asgard.
Now: A natural gas field in the North Sea on the border between United Kingdom and Norway. It was the world's largest and deepest offshore gas field when discovered in 1971.
5. Ormen Lange:
Originally: A viking longship.
Now: A natural gas field on the Norwegian continental shelf situated 120 kilometers north-west of Kristiansund.
