Sørfinnset skole/the nord land
Presentations, discussions and research on artists in rural work, 2003-2012
Geir Tore Holm and Søssa Jørgensen parallel to individual work that includes video, photography, sculpture, sound art, performance and installations, have mediated, written on and been teaching in contemporary art. By initiating Balkong in 1993, using their apartment as exhibition space, they brought up questions about what art can be. The contexts of artistic practice and work with art as dialogue in practice has been central issues. The homebased experiences led to many other activities. In 2003 they initiated Sørfinnset School/the nord land in Gildeskål, Nordland. This ongoing project includes focus on exploitation of nature, exchanging of knowledge and small-scale architecture. They continue to work in the field of broad aesthetical understanding of realities of society, man and nature.
Downshifting? We moved to the farm Ringstad in march 2010, and started up our life there, being looser connected to the city and the artists community. We are experiencing a change of workloads, not a reduction, taking care of the land, growing vegetables, grass and fruit, berries and our animals demands a change in daily rutines, working dynamically with the changing seaons.This change of living involves new discussions, including hands on experience. Looking for new ways, within ecological thinking, in contemporary art and society. Shifting down is probably more of neccecity in our individual lifes, but in societies there are cycles of changes based on resources, ideas and politics.
Artists' Bios:
Geir Tore Holm (b. Tromsø, 1966) is currently a research fellow at Oslo National Academy of the Arts.
Søssa Jørgensen (b. Oslo, 1968) holds an MA in Landscape Architecture from Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), Ås. The artists are living at the farm Ringstad in Skiptvet, Østfold.