The exhibition sheds light on a selection of artists who have all built their own structures, exploring the connections between their artistic practices and the buildings they have created. The exhibition project investigates how the artists' skills and experiences from their artistic processes manifest in their unique approach to a construction project. The exhibition features works by Markus Lantto, Per Kristian Nygård, Thor Erdahl, Inger-Anne Nyaas, and Erin Sexton. Trygve Ohren's installation and conversation series "Vi stabler steiner i bue og krysser fingre" are a central part of the exhibition, providing the framework for the exhibition project.

People building their own houses is not something new; we have always done it. What is different is the artists' approach to the task. Particularly interesting is their relationship with the materials they use. Several projects have been carried out with a significant amount of reuse of building materials. The need to manage our resources responsibly is becoming increasingly relevant. For the artists, the motivation to reuse is as much driven by economics as it is by ecology, but the method also aligns closely with the way many of them work in their studios. Embracing a construction process that utilizes recycled materials, rather than specialized products, requires adaptation. It is an adaptation in which we can learn a lot from the artists' ability to compose with available materials.

Conversation series
From process to realization, the exhibition seeks to highlight the importance of active participation in shaping our built environment. Through a series of interviews, we get to know the participating artists in the project. The conversations revolve around house building and art. The dialogue is led by Trygve Ohren and is an ongoing project that explores artists who build. Listen here.

About the artists

Per Kristian Nygård (b. 1979) works with spatial installations and sculptures. He explores the potential of art to break free from the language of economics, not necessarily from an explicitly critical perspective on capitalism, but rather as experiences that exist outside familiar categories of efficiency, time, and profitability, which are difficult to consume in traditional terms.

Markus Lantto (b. 1973) is a poet, writer, and artist based in Trondheim. He primarily works with installations and sculptures based on wood. His works often possess a comedic quality. Alongside his artistic practice, he builds and repairs instruments, a time-consuming and meticulous process. Lantto's knowledge of wood and his playfulness and patience in the process are also evident in his approach to house building.

Erin Sexton (b. 1982) is a Canadian artist based in the forest near Oslo. Her sculptures and installations involve found objects, hidden forces, knots, tarps, tape, crystals, radio, sci-fi narratives, and the like. With a provisional and psychedelic aesthetic, she explores alternative paradigms, peculiar topologies, soft apocalypticism, and metaphysical technology.

Thor Erdahl (b. 1951) and Inger-Anne Nyaas (b. 1960) have been building and creating artists for almost fifty years. Throughout their extensive careers, they have actively engaged in promoting art's presence in Kabelvåg. Drawing on their self-built gallery in the town square, the cabin under Vågakallen, and their residential house in Kabelvåg, we discuss the connections between their work in the studio and their construction projects. Their understanding of materials and building physics results in a truly unique use of recycled materials. Inger-Anne has continuously explored the possibilities inherent in textile media. In recent years, she has focused on transforming materials and the functionality of everyday objects. Thor Erdahl is best known for his imaginative paintings inspired by the landscape of Lofoten. Less known is his collection of objects. Thor collects everything that captures his interest, including newspaper clippings on art politics, historical artifacts, and planks that he can use in building projects. As a fifteen-year-old, Thor already had his own museum, and a few years later, he donated his collection to the Lofoten Museum. "Thors samling" (Thor's Collection) remains the main collection of the museum to this day.

Trygve Ohren (b. 1983) is an architect and artist who lives and works in Åneby, Nittedal. Ohren holds a degree in architecture from NTNU. His practice is characterized by various forms of collaboration. With an interest in place, resources, and different social contexts, he explores processes marked by a search for the loss of control. Since 2010, he has worked closely with Charlotte Rostad, and they have operated RAKE exhibition space in Trondheim, among other endeavors. In addition to his collaboration with Rostad, Ohren is a partner at Nøysom Arkitekter, best known for a self-building project in Svartlamon. Ohren is part of the ROM team in 2020/21, supported by the Guest Residency Program of the Norwegian Arts Council.