Momentum 9: Alienation

M9 announces contributors and tour dates
Since its inception in 1998, MOMENTUM has strived to present compelling works of art and outstanding artistic ventures in Norway and the Nordic context. The Biennial has since become established as one of the most exciting platforms for contemporary art in the Nordic region. The ninth edition of the Momentum Biennial (M9) takes the notion of alienation as its starting point. 
 

Contributors: Abigail deVille (US), Atelier Cyberspace (Denmark), Búi Aðalsteinsson (Iceland), H.R. Giger (Switzerland), Johannes Heldén (Sweden), John Duncan (US), Jone Kvie (Norway), Jussi 
Kivi (Finland), Jenna Sutela (Finland), Kapwani Kiwanga (Canada), Kjersti Vetterstad (Norway), Levi van Veluw (Netherlands), Linda Persson (Sweden), Mediated Matter (US), Museum of Nonhumanity (Finland), Olga Bergmann & Anna Hallin (Iceland), Patricia Piccinini
 (Australia), Patrick Jackson (US), Pinar Yoldas (Turkey), Public Dreaming (New Zealand), Ragnar Þórisson (Iceland), Rana Hamadeh (Lebanon), Rolf Nowotny (Denmark), Serina Erfjord (Norway), Sonja Bäumel (Austria), Stathis Tsemberlidis (Greece), Third Ear (Denmark/US), Trollkrem (Norway), Tuomas Kortteinen & Heikki Lotvonen (Finland), Wael Shawky (Egypt), Ylva Westerlund (Sweden) 

Curators: Ulrika Flink (Sweden), Ilari Laamanen (Finland), Jacob Lillemose (Denmark), Gunhild Moe (Norway), Jón B.K. Ransu (Iceland) 

Commissioner: Punkt Ø, Director Dag Aak Sveinar 
 

With alienation the curators refer to a contemporary world where alien processes and entities are becoming an integrated part of our lives through technological, ecological and 
social transformations. We encounter and engage with the alien every day. Alienation is our contemporary condition. While more information and modes 
of communication are available to us than ever before, it is not easier to make sense of the whole. M9 addresses this confusion and insists on searching for new tools for greater understanding of the human condition through cross-pollination of methods, categories and disciplines. 

The creative practices featured in M9 reflect an expanded transdisciplinary exploration. The practices will address alienation, focusing on the following three areas: 1) Bodies, Objects and Technologies, 2) Ecology and 3) Structures and Societies. The three areas are conceived as overlapping and interconnected and manifest through the individual works and through the multiple connections these works create. The Biennial addresses topical concerns of cultural and geographical borders, biopolitics and social inequality. The works featured in the Biennial resonate with the local context of Moss and furthermore branch out to instigate and participate in broader discussions. 

Venues: Alienation will feature works in the Momentum Kunsthall and Galleri F 15 and at selected off-site locations in the city of Moss. MOMENTUM KUNSTHALL is in Moss’s historic city centre, housed in an old industrial and urban
 centre typical of the region and situated by a river and close to a former paper factory, which closed down in 2012. Galleri F 15 is at Alby Mansion on 
the island of Jeløy in the Oslo fjord. The gallery occupies a historic mansion house, which also includes a garden. 

Platform commissions: the Biennial’s online platform will provide further information about the contributors and the theme of Alienation, and will also feature newly commissioned works before the opening of the Biennial. New online works include a podcast series by Third Ear and a graphic novel by Ylva Westerlund. A new commissioned novel by Johannes Heldén will be published in conjunction with the Biennial’s opening on June 17. The book will be available for purchase from the Biennial store and online. 
 

Curator tour: M9 Curators present the biennial to press and audience in Oslo on March 21, in Malmö on March 22, in Copenhagen on March 23, and in Berlin on March 24.