Artist Talk - ‘Ephemerality’

As several who were unable to attend the opening have since asked me if my talk was streamed &/or professionally recorded (to which the answer is no), I have decided to share the transcript.

Artist Talk, 17.06.2026, opening night, ‘Ephemerality’ - Sjøholmen Kulturhus, Oslo.

“Before I talk about my work, I’d like to acknowledge Sjøholmen and its founder Mette Torstensen.

There is a lot of talk in the art world concerning support for artists, most of which is currently focused around paying artists to produce work for a gallery - often on the gallery’s terms – where the curator sets the theme, and the Institutions decide who or what is relevant, and determine the timeline. Without a discussion on artistic freedom of expression, or the time, space needed for creative work, the conversation continues to miss one of the fundamentals of art.

Mette and I had a conversation a couple of years ago, where we signed an agreement that I would do another summer show at Sjøholmen, without fixing the year. I believe I said I will need at least another 2-4 years, so we loosely agreed on 2026, possibly 2027 or 2028.

The freedom of being able to work on my terms, within my timeframe, while knowing there is a professional gallery both waiting to host me, and willing to give me full artistic freedom regarding the show, is a rare kind of framework that truly supports an artist. So thank you Mette.

Thank you also to the rest of the team – Maria, Lill, Erika. The installation crew, Gjermund and Rolf, and of course my beautiful daughter Rebecca, who has produced all my films.

Ephemerality –
A brief moment in space and time

There are so many nuances, so many layers, so many stories embedded in my works, - today however I am only going to talk about one of them.

Red Earth, Bone Black – Breathing with Ghosts.

Completed 14th February 2025.

Two pigments.

‘Red Iron Earth’ –Haematite, red ochre, commonly known as ‘the Bloodstone’ ‘Bone Black’, made from burnt remains.

Our use of these two pigments as art materials date back to prehistoric times. Which is significant. When using them I am acutely aware that I am tapping into something bigger than my individual self. – They have an energy, and a certain feel to them ...

Haematite, the Bloodstone, ochre, is intrinsically tied to human evolution. Though – something which I find curious – I had very little awareness of this when I first began using it back in 2022.

As is the way with me, when I find myself drawn to something – a material – I want to learn more, understand it from both a scientific and historical / cultural perspective. Discover its physical properties, as well its sensory nature.

I start researching and experimenting. My work starts to become a kind of dance between the intuitive and the analytical / conceptual, the spontaneous and the intentional. The scientific and the spiritual.

Ochre is a rare cultural feature, consistently present throughout the historical records of humanity, from prehistoric times to the modern day, widely used by humans as a symbolic element, showing up in rituals related to birth, puberty, marriage, death.

Aesthetically ochres have been / still are used as body decoration, as well as for utilitarian uses such as sunscreens, insect repellants and medicine.

On a global scale, the study of ochres has also helped us to understand defining global events such as large-scale extinctions, climate change, mass death

For me however, the allure of ochre – Iron earths - and my specific use of ‘the Bloodstone’ in this piece is connected to profound loss, both on an individual and collective level.

My use of bone black is directly related to the element of fire and the historical significance of the pigment itself - specifically its early use by humans as a mark making medium.

Red Earth, Bone Black - Ochre and fire – two pigments, both deeply embedded in our psyche - both intrinsically linked to us, our humanity.

Past. Present. Future. Time. Space.

This painting took a lot of out me during the creation of it. Demanding both physically and emotionally.

Grief – love in all its nuances.

It is about loss.

Fire in an immortalized state. Burnt remains suspended in time.

For me, the Fire - our energy / our soul / our Being - remains, while burnt remains, or the reside can represent a mark left behind by our physical beings - like a footprint, left behind where our body once moved – a moment of flux frozen in time.

Fire is primal.

We leave our mark on others; they leave their marks on us. The effect of our Fire remains, long after we are gone.

People can be deceased or estranged – both departed, yet still very much alive within us.

Fire can gather, nourish, nurture and protect. Fire can also destroy, consume, devour,

overwhelm.

Fire also has the ablity to bring about change and transformation, both in the physical world and in our inner selves.

When I first started working on this piece, I thought it was about the loss of a very dear friend – and this may sound strange to some of you – because although she is deceased, I felt her presence there with me, standing beside me in my studio.

Sometime during the process however it became about estrangement, and the multiply layers of grieve that come with being cut off from your parents.

Of having to let go of your birth family. And your identity.

Estrangement from your birth family goes against the natural order of things.

You no longer belong – you don’t not belong either.
You grieve for what is, you grieve for what you longed for, and you grieve for yourself. The relationships you did not have. The relationships now lost.

Your siblings become familiar strangers.

Your aunts, uncles, cousins – an occasional like on an Instagram post.
A cycle that goes back generations has been broken - your children are free - though you must now walk alone.

Completely alone.

Isolated.

Yet not.

I find solace and a sense of belonging in nature, surrounded by Beings. Feeling their presence and connection everywhere.

Both the very real presence of those there with you – the animals, birds, insects, plants – and the presence, the energy of those who may be physically gone yet remain alive within you – the deceased.

And of course, the whimsical fanciful Beings created by ‘mini Kat’.

The Beings that kept me company as a child, are the same ones that keep me playful, joyful and full of life now.

Sir David Attenbourgh has a quote that resonates – “we must move from being apart from nature to becoming a part of nature once again”

I have been estranged from my parents since 2015.

It was only while going through my notes, preparing this exhibition that I realised I completed this painting 10 years later, on the 14th February 2025 – Valentine’s Day.

The love remains”