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Dreamland II, oil and chalk pastel on canvas, 60" × 80", 2016
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Well Kristina, you are the new kid on the block, relatively speaking. The first question anybody asks me about you is whether you are Canadian or Norwegian? You were born in Halifax, right?
Yes, I was born in Halifax to Norwegian parents and very quickly relocated back to Norway. Having led a fairly transient life, hopping back and forth between Norway and Canada, among other places, I very much identify with my Norwegian heritage but attribute much of my disposition and lifestyle to Canadian influences.
Your paintings seem to be landscape-inspired but not about landscape in a specific or literal way. Are you painting about our relationship with the landscape?
My paintings are in many ways a self-portrait, or an abstract narrative. Taking the idea of painting our relationship with the landscape one step further to the point that we are reminded of our ecological selves and in a way become our natural environment, no separation. I recall reading a beautiful article describing this very idea and that it's the almost physical disappearing delineation of self. This resonated with me so much so that I titled 2 paintings after this idea. I would describe this as a defining moment of clarity where we can witness a transference from an intellectual to a visceral understanding of ourselves.
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Often, viewers are anxious to identify place or a location in a painting but you resist that temptation. Can you tell me a little about your titles–like Transient? I gather Dreamland is a series of paintings.
I resist the urge to identify any particular place in a painting because it's not what I'm after. My goal is to make manifest an/my experience which will hopefully translate to the viewer, in turn, conjuring a similar experience. My titles relate directly to where in my life I am at the time, serving as much as a time identifier as a date. My painting Transient was created in transience in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, a landscape which at the time served as an anchor in some ways. Dreamland is a series inspired by the otherworldly Icelandic landscape and my experience there.
One gentleman during the opening fixed on Haerra and asked me about the goddess. I replied that goddesses were often affiliated with mountains but I thought he was thinking of Hera, the Greek mythic figure. And my Icelandic mythology is rusty. Can you clarify this?
Hærra is Icelandic for higher, in Norwegian: høyere, which refers to the 'heightened' state of awareness when we are completely connected with our natural environments. On a personal note I'll add that I am very much a good 1/3 Icelandic as well...which is one of the reasons I went there and use Icelandic in titles from time to time.
You've made some very interesting choices with this new body of work. I was impressed that you carried the large-scale off so well. Your paintings never look inflated; these are big paintings with big ideas.
Thank you, I prefer to make larger work, it allows me to really step inside the idea when it's complete.
That leads me to your sense of composition that is quite distinctive. Simplest Thing stands out–I thought that was very brave of you to leave such a large portion open at the top. The spare painting here really evokes a wind scrubbed sky.
Yes, a wind scrubbed sky! I like that phrase.
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Simplest thing, oil and chalk pastel on canvas, 36" × 60"
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The way you layer your materials is very satisfying. Could you say something about the visual relationship between the oil and chalk pastel and of course the acrylic? It seems almost energetic to me.
My practice is very intuitive, spontaneous, and physical, and I find the relationship between these materials allows me to mirror my approach. Also, I find there is an interesting dynamic between the oil and chalk, a tension that gives way to peaceful spaces if that makes sense, a dynamic that very much reflects our natural environments....even our not so natural environments.
Do you have any aesthetic goals that you feel haven't come up in this conversation…anything you'd like to add?
Aesthetically in my practice, I would like to keep evolving and taking risks, exploring new materials perhaps, increasing the scale.
Sounds like you might have some exciting plans to share…
As far as exciting news, I will be beginning a Masters this September through Athabasca University. I'm also planning a residency in Chile with the Museum of Modern Art in Chiloe in 2017, as well as a local residency not too far from St. Johns.
grt
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