O F I N ÖRLÖG
2023 - Part of the group show "Since the first encounter", Gamle Munch, Oslo, Norway
Format: Installation of felted wool and durational performance
Project idea and performer: Mari Bø
Curator: Daria Testoedova
Photo: Freydis fotograf and Myriam Marti fotografi, Åsne Storli
In Ofin Örlög, I draw upon Norse mythology's tapestry to contemplate fate, destiny, and the ‘threads’ binding lives across time.
With a background in dance I am preoccupied with movement (or lack thereof) and have recently begun working with different forms of weaving as a part of my artistic practice – exploring movement in various materials and forms.
A crocheted loom anchors this installation, crafted from Norwegian and Icelandic Wool – threads bearing fragments of lives—stories interwoven through generations. Using an old washing board, I felted the wool, molding them together into something new. Just as these fibers unite in the loom, all of our stories somehow converge into a collective tale.
Inside the loom casts of maternal bellies carry the weight of time—the past that shaped me, the present I navigate, and a future that beckons.
Working on Ofin Örlög I think about how past decisions sculpt our present and our futures, how the consequences of life altering decisions can be both liberating and destructive. I think about my daughter, how carrying her and birthing her was mindboggling, exceptional and insane, yet in the grand scheme the most ordinary thing. I cannot grasp how these monumental shifts can happen in the world every second, and how come we are not constantly talking about it? My daughter’s entry into the world caused a total disturbance and together we have found a gradual rebalance. I find new expectations and ideals to strive for, and find myself sometimes too tightly woven, too constricted, searching for movement but somehow stuck in my own expectations and desires.
Finding movement in a constricted structure is something I have worked with for the performance piece that takes place inside the installation during the opening of this exhibition.
Shifts and adjustments that alter the threads in our lives can seem all encompassing. I find myself derailed, weaving myself into a form where there is no way forward - I pause, reflect and try again.
Supported by
- Norsk Kulturråd - Kunstnerstipend for yngre nyetablerte kunstnere
- Islandsforeningen i Oslo - Isdager 2023
