November 12, 2021–April 18, 2022
Henrik Ibsens gate 55
4021 Stavanger
Norway
Oil and other fossil fuels set the premises for today’s society, enabling speed of communication and mobility of people and goods. It is present everywhere in our material surroundings: from our furniture and clothes, to the food we eat and the pharmaceutical products we need. Oil has literally lubricated the engine of globalisation and led to far-reaching changes in societal structures. Oil related industries have led to enormous material prosperity for some nations and political and armed conflict for others, as well as aggregated destruction of the natural environment on a large scale for all. Always in close physical proximity, oil shapes individual experiences and identities alike.
Experiences of Oil displays artworks that trace various experiences that living close to oil creates, as well as its rippling effects on society. The participating artists have personal connections to some of the world’s largest oil producing nations. Their contributions explore the social, cultural, and emotional aspects of oil and its economic and political frameworks. The exhibition thereby offers an opportunity for reflection on and comparison of oil nations. Is it possible to imagine an affective neighbourhood between these different geographical areas and nations—based on oil?
The exhibition examines how the invisibility of oil, and its language, representations and visual culture, affect identities, nation states, power structures, and the lived experiences of indigenous peoples. This exhibition highlights how the business of extracting oil perpetuates and enforces power, disempowerment, and colonial structures.
Stavanger is the third largest metropolitan area of Norway, and commonly known as the “oil capital of Norway.” Experiences of Oil will be on view at Stavanger Art Museum and in public space throughout the city of Stavanger over the course of the exhibition period.
With contributions by Liv Bugge, Christopher Cozier, Ane Graff, INFRACITIONS, Linda Lamignan with David Lamignan Larsen, Alessandro Marchi, Otobong Nkanga, Camille Norment in collaboration with Lisa Harris and Sarah Prosser, Monira Al Qadiri, Farah Al Qasimi, Raqs Media Collective, Øyvind Rimbereid, Shirin Sabahi, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Chai Siris, Brynhild Grødeland Winther, Kiyoshi Yamamoto.
Experiences of Oil is curated by Anne Szefer Karlsen and Helga Nyman.
Program
Opening: November 12, 7–10pm
Late night at the museum with food, drinks and music by DJ Ida Nerbø
Artist symposium: November 13, 1–4pm
Film screening; lecture performance; artist talks.
Guided tour with sign language interpretation: November 14, 11am–12:30pm
Guided tour by Katharina Ueland, interpreted by Kathrine Rehder and Marianne Bjerg
Critical Walks: November 14, 1–3pm
A city walk by artist Alessandro Marchi
Publications
October 2021: Kunstlicht Vol. 42 Nr. 3/4, The Worldliness of Oil: Recognition and Relations
Double issue of Kunstlicht–academic journal for art, visual culture, and architecture. With contributions by Tanja Engelberts and Anna-Rosja Haveman, Roshini Kempadoo, Tove Kommedal, Natasha Marie Llorens, Ashley Maum, María Matilde Morales, Niloufar Nematollahi, Marie Midttun Skretting, Sanaz Sohrabi, Anna Sejbæk Torp-Pedersen, Murtaza Vali, Susanne Kriemann and Ruby de Vos, Agnieszka Wodzińska.
March 2022: Experiences of Oil
Anthology published by Museumsforlaget with contributions by Iheanyi Onwuegbucha and George Emeka Agbo, Remco de Blaaij, Roshini Kempadoo and Christopher Cozier, Anna Ihle, Melissa Gronlund, Anne Szefer Karlsen, Murtaza Vali in conversation with OCLAME (Oil and Culture from Latin America and the Middle East), Monira Al Qadiri, Ragnhild Aamås.
More information about the exhibition can be found on our website.
For press inquiries please contact Arash Shahali or Lene Berge Førland.
Acknowledgements
With support from the Norwegian Association of the Deaf, the audio-visual works in the exhibition are displayed with sound to text interpretation, and sign language interpretations by Kathrine Rehder are made available as films.
Supported by KORO, the exhibition includes commissioned work by Liv Bugge, Linda Lamignan with David Lamignan Larsen, Alessandro Marchi, and Camille Norment, on view in public spaces during the exhibition period. Liv Bugge’s work is commissioned by Volt (curator Marie Nerland) and produced in collaboration with Stavanger Art Museum. Producer: Marie Midttun Skretting.
The exhibition also shows commissioned work by Brynhild Grødeland Winther and Kiyoshi Yamamoto (created in collaboration with Gandaia Arts/Mariana Rabello Pinho).
The exhibition is supported by the Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design, University of Bergen; KORO; Arts Council Norway; the Fritt Ord Foundation; the City of Stavanger and the Goethe-Institut.
