The Valley at Greenlightdistrict
Published
The video The Valley is shown during this year’s Greenlightdistrict – the interdisciplinary art festival in Skien that sheds light on issues related to nature, industry, climate and the environment. In The Valley, the small village of Dale in Western Norway is used as a prism to look at global changes related to production and economy. The video was created by Åse Løvgren and Stine Gonsholt, and was partially produced at BEK during a work residency in spring 2019. The sound equipment used for the screening in Skien is also supported by BEK.
In Dale, the old textile factory has been transformed into a data park that digs for bitcoin. The data park was located here because of access to cheap hydropower, just as the textile factory was founded here in 1879 because of the large hydropower resources surrounding the valley. Water flows through pipes and streams, data flows through wires, and capital and jobs flow globally to where they are most efficient.
In the film, the visual artists have collaborated with Alexander Rishaug who made the sound of the film. Through field recordings and visual “recordings” of the site, the descriptions are abstract and gives a nuanced image with many layers.
Read more about the project and artists when they was doing their work residency at BEK here.
Read more about The Valley at the Greenlightdistrict festival here.