Status report from the field
Published
In the workshop that BEK arranges this week, some of Norway’s most experienced sound artists engulf in the relationship between sound and reality. Notions of “place” must be seen in new light when concepts such as “post truth” and “fake news” in recent years have become actualized. Do we need to find new ways to do reality-based audio recordings when the differences between truth and fiction have become politicized? As a starting point for experiments and discussions, the artists have visited Mongstad to record on-site and follow CO2 gas from the refinery, through the CO2 capture facility, to an algae plantation where CO2 is used in the cultivation of edible algae.
Participating artists are Signe Lidén, Alexander Rishaug, Bodil Furu, Rune Søchting, Yngvild Færøy, Jiska Huizing, Siri Austeen, Joakim Blattmann and Espen Sommer Eide.
The workshop is led by Ernst Karel, who makes electroacoustic music and experimental nonfiction sound works for multichannel installation and performance, and collaborates with filmmakers and artists in making audiovisual work. His recent projects are edited/composed using unprocessed location recordings; in performance he sometimes combines these with analog electronics to create pieces which move between the abstract and the documentary.
All photos are taken by Jiska Huizing.
Read more about the workshop here.