Andreassen's project “Ellipse” is based on one of Norway's historic shopping centers: Stovner Senter in Oslo. The project is a further development of the Centarium project carried out in 2018/19 in Mo i Rana in collaboration with Nordnorsk kunstnersenter.

“Ellipse” at ROM is a holistic spatial film experience that addresses consumer culture and explores artistic strategies in the semi-public urban space. We show six different films, shown both as film on screen and as film on canvas in sculptural installations. Andreassen is an artist who works with the performative potential and defining power of urban spaces. We look forward to an exhibition in which Andreassen will continue her exploration of a hybrid cinematic expression that merges fiction and documentary, as well as methods and expressions from other art fields.

The six short films (between five and ten minutes long) are perceived as different narratives and largely use different genres. Some are documentary, some are clearly performative. But what they have in common is both how Andreassen observes the care of the place - in this case Stovner - and how he uses subtle humor and warmth for the place. Together, these film flashes form an elliptical trajectory around the urban spaces that connect Stovner Center and the surrounding places.

This experimental and open artistic practice around the film medium, as well as Andreassen's interest in urban spaces, public and semi-public spaces and human interaction, makes him a highly relevant and interesting artist looking at the architectural film genre through the exhibition format.

Sigrid Kittelsaa Vesaas - Performer

Alma Bø - Performer

Sarah Francesca Brænne - Performer

Jørgen Bull - Cinematographer

Idun Kvasbø - Editor

Eivind Hofstad Evjemo - Author

The artist would like to thank the users, staff and management at Stovner Senter and Stovner Eldresenter.

Aleksander Johan Andreassen works mainly with performance, film and installations. His artistic practice alternates between his own film and exhibition projects, and various collaborations with other artists, practitioners and professionals from film, dance, performance and theater. Andreassen is interested in how the architecture and design of urban spaces affect how we meet each other, and how artistic interventions can generate new meeting points. 

In addition to showing his work at home and abroad, he has won a number of awards for his films, including Best Artists' Film at the Aesthetica Short Film Festival in Cork, UK for the film Centarium (2020), and the Golden Chair for Best Norwegian Short Film at the Norwegian Short Film Festival in Grimstad for the film Strim (2017). Andreassen holds an MFA from Konstfack in Stockholm, and in 2022 completed a one-year residency at the Jan van Eyck academy in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

https://aleksanderjohan.com/

The films in the project are supported by Fond for lyd og bilde, Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond, Fritt Ord, KORO, Norsk Fotografisk Fond and Kulturrådet.

The exhibition opens during the festival from February 27 to March 2, 2025, and runs until April 6.