KVAE & BARK:
I hånda, hodet og hjertet

In the exhibition’s “anteroom” there is also a drying rack with plants from the surroundings of the art centre. The installation will change over time as the plants hang in the gallery, from fresh green at the beginning to dried, more brownish tones towards the end. It also includes elk stomachs and dried Brussels sprout stalks. The rack is built in a traditional style with joined wood and branches used as drying lines, creating a contrast between the constructed and the natural.

The monumental black wall in the gallery functions as a division—between a front and a back side of the exhibition—but it is also a planned cladding for Kvae & Bark’s future sauna.

Working with materials in the exhibition space as an extension of their own life and home in Rognli has gradually become a method of practice. It is also a way of addressing a form of material guilt that can sometimes arise in artistic production in a time when new production should perhaps be avoided. Producing art that can also serve a practical function in life gives them access to better sleep, the two artists claim.

The anthills in the exhibition are tactile forms reminiscent of childhood summers. In the gallery space they directly reference structures in nature that are both fascinating and inspiring due to their collective and meticulous construction. From the anthills one can hear a sound work produced by Eirik Melstrøm, adding both a sacred and hypnotic quality to the space. In working with the anthills, Kvae & Bark have reflected on ant communication, and find the idea that ants communicate through smell adds an additional layer of tactility.

The exhibition also presents the newly released book Varm juli, kjølig august (“Warm July, Cool August”), created in collaboration with Swedish curator Mikael Andersson. The book is a kind of logbook, a process, with a condiments bucket (a reference to the kitchen) as its cover. If visitors purchase the book and open the box, the smell of smoke will meet them—like a smoke signal from one ant to another.

Kvae & Bark will also show three foraging flags, functioning as a manifesto of their practice, in the hand, head and heart. The flags display images from earlier projects and form a green backdrop for one of the walls. The colour green can also be read as a recurring thread throughout the exhibition; the green carpet that has spread through the exhibition space resonates throughout the installation.

At the far end of the gallery space—in the dark room beneath the mezzanine—a fallen willow tree with tabletops will be presented. Here visitors can rest, read and taste. The light will be dimmer, creating a warmer and more intimate atmosphere. Leaves from last autumn are gathered in piles around the room. Birch shelves with raw materials are placed along the walls; a new jar is opened each day and presented within the room’s table structure.