day twenty one

Oslo  |   8 degrees  |  sunny

after a
long long
sleep
in a
soft warm bed
drink tea
eat breakfast
look at map
decide to walk
instead of
using metro
can walk through
well known park
on the way to
villa stenersen

check and recharge
batteries
fill pockets
with snacks
and head
out of town
past grand buildings
embassies + hotels
down steep steps
along empty streets
past a huge ice rink
past frogner stadium
and outdoor baths
with light blue
curly chutes
and into the
vigeland sculpture park
an installation
created by
gustav vigeland
bronze and granite
figures
men, women, children
standing, jumping
hugging, holding
dancing,
sitting + staring
over 200 figures
lining the bridge
arranged in groups
enacting
the human condition
the circle of life
from death comes life
a lifetimes work
admidst
a romantic landscape
at the centre
a monolith
14m tall
121 writhing figures
reaching for the sky
a big erection
you can see for miles
it’s a popular
tourist attraction
tho’
the tone is
decidedly
facistic

on and out of the park
cross the busy road
arrive
at rows of
suburban villas
find the one
I’m looking for
and walk up
the winding park
it looks quite small
this modernist abode
invited in
by kindly curator
who points to the
coat rack and toilet
and goes back
to her meeting
am left to explore
whole place
is flooded
with sunlight
it’s so hot
remove a
couple of layers
then spend
2 happy hours
photographing this
’30s home
enchanted by it’s
clear curves
glass brick facade
pinkish ripples
drifting across the walls
a downstairs room
with pale lemon curtains
+ a red laquered piano
2 faded chairs
+ a chrome table
sit on a black circle
upstairs
the bedroom
has a pillar
that spews hot air
surfaces and sills
covered in
in a lustrous
emerald glass
the bathroom suite
is custard yellow
the walls
mottled green
like a gathering
of moss families
2 large chrome
+ hinged mirrors
sit above
twin sinks
extravangant
for a time
when bathrooms
were rare
stumble into
servant’s quarters
woodwork and doors
painted
cerulean blue
a demarkated zone
small rooms at the top
full of light
and amazing views
of lakes and hills
around the city
photograph + film
steadily
thoughout
this sun-lit afternoon
leaving as the
sun goes down
heading back to town

next
nasjonalmuseet
enter through massive doors
deeply carved
weighty
the marble floors
and stairs
are the colour of
raw liver
driven through
with stiletto shaped
trilobytes
could almost
pick them out
colour coded rooms
indicate the centuries
apricot – twentieth
lt blue – nineteenth
terracotta -older stuff etc
the pièce de résistance
munch’s rooms
with the scream
behind obligatory
perspex panel
the sinuous bleeding
oranges and pinks
the chalky greens
and blues
whorl around
the dead-eyed
screaming figure
2 stiff blokes
in ultramarine
hover in the background
two sailing ships
sit in side by side
in the middle distance
quickly trip round
the other stuff
colourful abstracts
stylised figures
expressionists
matisse followers
the naturalistic nature brigade
+ then an exhib
of woodblock prints
black and white
graphic and subtle
from 18th c japan
to 21th c norway
a good old mix
a contemporary artist
whilst in residence
has taken
a political stance
or détournement
using the floor
as his printing block
the resulting prints
metres square
fill the walls
with talking heads
and political sophistry

back to the pensjonat
for a meal
spinachy pasta
a banana
and a vodka alcopop
apart from
the train
the plane
the underground
another train
that’s it
residency over
back to ‘normal’
tomorrow

day twenty

Oslo | 8 degrees | foggy

hop on the bus
early
no moon
to illuminate the way
driver’s headlights
rake miles of
seried tree trunks
driver
chats all the way
about my stay
about the weather
(unusually mild)
about the museums
I should visit
about the vikings
about british
TV programmes
norwegians like-
‘top gear’
‘downton abbey’
a young boy get’s on
he’s sweedish
asks if I am british
and chats away
about how marvellous
the castles are
in england
and how simply
wonderful the fort
in konsvinger is
although he’s
about 16
his english accent
suggests he’s seen
too many movies
from an era
when everyone spoke
like celia johnson
in brief encounter

off bus
onto train
reach Oslo
before 9
bleary eyed
and thick
with unfinished
sleep
have coffee
at the station
drag the heavy case
on wobbly weheels
up the long main road
to the palace
round the corner
is cochs pensjonat
home for
the next few days
walk along
old patterned floor tiles
up a dark wooden stairs
up in a coppery lift
a small room
a peachy bedsit
with beds, sofa-bed,table,chairs
hotplate, fridge
en suite with heated floor
cosy, clean
make tea
sleep on bed
for half an hour

head to waterfront
to most modern
gallery
astrup-fearnly
piano’s builing
all drooping glassy sails
+ venetian blinds
..not exactly art friendly
inside
acres of smooth concrete
and flat white walls
the art is
usual safe fare
disappointingly so
exhib on appropriation
koons – all meticulous
candy coloured surfaces
yawn
sherman – borrowed types
of female roles
prince – cowboys, pastiches
car bonnets
gober – odd sinks
supposedly eerie
tho’ it’s
hard to be eerie in
a white concrete box
just one photo
catches my eye
charles ray
2 small self portraits
side by side
man fixed to wall
by a plank
in the collection
usual suspects
keifer, polke
hirst, emin,
ho-hum
plus painting from
later period of
american pop artists
(born in 70’s)
it’s as if
all american artists
can say is
…hey we’re into
the world of advertising
and isn’t it something …
banal in every way
no humour
though there is one
entirely covered
in blue hair
no subversion
no sideways look
little text panels
tell you exactly what
is there
no surprises
no unimagined insights
no space for speculation
or contemplation
sit in
media lounge
with looped video
of a man
in sparkly blazer
falling off a chair
over and over and over
accompanied by
electric organ music
sit in forcefully designed
red chair
flick though
glossy art books
enjoy one
on brazilian contemporary art
containing art
embodying
everything that is
absent from exhibition
variety, complexity
confusion, exuberance
playfulness, tactility
that’d make a
good exhibition!

walk through the fog
past nobel peace prize centre
..that’s happening this week
back up through
the city
it’s really quite small
low-key
nothing fancy
steady + assured
at the centre is
the winter market
vinterland
a ferris wheel
decked with tiny lights
stalls in wooden chalets
sell knitted goods
and doughnuts
hot dogs
and waffles
gluehwein
and something
that smells fishy
+ socks, hats, shawls
all v jovial

back at base
eat a hot
panini and
a cup of tea
take photos
of the
v white bathroom
then plan
tomorrow’s excursion

day nineteen

Austmarka  |  o degrees  |  sunny

last day
in austmarka
the days
have passed
faster + faster
not sure
there’ll be much
to show
for such
a luxurious +
unprecedented amount
of time spent
exploring
experimenting
mucking about with materials
testing things out
will be sorry
to leave behind
the generous studio
and dramatic outdoors
daily trudge across
largely people free landscape
the bitter + brittle cold
(weirdly !)
the quiet + unhurried pace
casual conversations
about stuff like
photography, politics
education, history
refugees,
food, christmas
art
not so sorry
to leave behind
the blandish food
+ lack of wine
having cold feet
in the middle of the night
slamming doors
popcorn popping
people living
a nocturnal life
not being able to
just go somewhere
(apart from Kongsvinger)
and back
in a day

last trip
to shop
toilet roll
ran out
loop back
round the village
past the
unfenced-in school
the pointy-steepled church
a flooded field
over the bridge
crossing
the black river
that links
the top lake
to the bottom
musing on the
civility of
this place
which appears
(after 3 weeks!)
well resourced
and designed
communal
and generous
not shouty or
overbearing

sort and shuffle
disentangle and discard
all the stuff
that’s accumulated
around me
dried up lichen
fir cones
mortar found at
nearby fortress
gluey blobs
broken sticks
bits of card
scribbled notes
and messages
until
the table’s
almost clear
pack the case
with wobbly wheels
stuff back-pack
with what’s left over
secrete gerkiny pickle
amongst the jumpers
and socks
set to go
before sun-up
the young guy
from Taiwan wants
to come to the
bus stop
and say
goodbye

day eighteen

Austmarka | 8 degrees | grey

sunday morning
a grey day
a thin sweater
one pair of socks
day
have a bit of a plan
cheering…
go into the woods
next to the studio
pursue
the parallel line thing
find the sticks
collected
earlier in the week
make
additions + adjustments
in the trees
breaking
all the verticality
with sets of diagonals
and horizontals
can’t make
a neat knot
tho’
every-time I do
it’s different
straggly and untidy
rub over
the white string
with mud and moss
to hide
the crap-ness
not tall enough
to reach v high
+ the ladder’s vanished
can see the
lines now
from the studio
need about
100 more sticks
to make
it really something

in the studio
plan a small
exhibition
form makeshift plinths
with bits of wood
for the burner
old chair parts
legs and wedges
sidebars and backs
make certain rules
as I go
3 pieces only
a base, a post, a top
on the plinths
balance
spagetti sculptures
…gemütlich
takes all morning
take some
photos
but need the sun
to bring
it alive

a good morning’s work
eat an unmemorable
lunch
sit around
reading, thinking
plan and photocopy
metro maps and
directions for
galleries
and museums
in Oslo
drift in and out
of emails,
Facebook
news items
is there a storm
in the UK ?
internet works
for some things
not others
fiddled around
on security
to get rid of
annoying
norwegian pop-ups
but seem to
have lost
something in the process

from morning to evening
it’s darkish
can’t tell
the time of day
by the light
suddenly goes
from 4 to 7pm and
it all looks the same
some domestic stuff
to do
hoover and clean
a bit
put on some washing
re-charge batteries
then cook up some
pølse into a big
sausagey stew
red peppers, tomatos
beans, chilli
+ mashed potato
fills me up
slows me down
spend the
evening on the sofa
watching all sorts
of rubbishy stuff
on youtube
bit of this
and that
but addicted to
back to back
episodes
of black books
to laughter
can’t believe how
old it is
was quite young
then

and have
a plan
will stage
a small
in every sense of the word
exhibition
in the studio

day seventeen

Austmarka  |  5 degrees  |  dark + damp

looking out
first thing
the grubby sky
is touching
the ground
underfoot
the road
is sticky and slippery
water is trickling
and rushing
everywhere
don’t need a hat
or gloves
from the shop
get bread
satsumas, a pear
decide to give
the pølse
(sausages)
a go
they look like
fat frankfurters
the owner
asks
how are things going?
he suggests
a trip to
Stockholm
only
5 hours away
it’s friendlier there

the video stuff
is on the
back burner
the programme
keeps crashing
frustrating
greedily
it eats up the time
giving so
little back
some artists
hand over the
making of stuff
to others
experts
less painful
perhaps
but that
requires
a degree
of clarity
about intentions
that simply
don’t exist
here and now

after a cheese
(so bland)
sandwich +
gerkiny pickle
a change of scene
huddle up
upstairs
on the sofa
with a film
keeping
in the spirit
of all things
scandanavian
you tube provides
some Bergman films
watch
The Rite (1969)
shot in
black + white
strange characters
actors perhaps
engaged in
arcane and
bizarre behaviour
being grilled
by a judge
in frequent
close ups
they are
lined, textured
creased
swaying bewteen
agression + torpor
melodrama
intense and
complict in
something dark
undefined
somewhat
hysterical
and priapic
…not many laughs

the evening
drags on
sit and construct
with card and glue
architectual forms
on a v small scale
quite pleasing
to do whilst
listening to
stories
on audio

day sixteen

Austmarka  |  1 degree  |  wet + dull

plan was
to go
back to town
to walk along
the river glomma
buy something
nice to eat
revisit
the old town
alarm went off
still dark
expected that
+ tipping
down with rain
checked BBC weather
the rain’s
here to stay
get back
into bed

have discoverd that
with a fan oven
you can
can make your toast
and dry your hair
simulataneously
if standing close enough

house is
v quiet
Norwegian artist
left early
won’t be back
til Mon
no public transport
at w/ends
the other two
sleep on and off
all day
alone in the studio
plan and plot
and test things out
using newly aquired
editing skills
for most
of the day
pleased that
some of the
complex skills
have stuck
sadly
it all looks
quite boring
just trees
and more trees
and bits of river
and ice
at a loss
search around
for inspiration
on vimeo
you tube
a story
some lyrics
artists’ sites
music videos
anything will do
to shake it
out
three weeks
and there should
be something
to see
apart from
this stupid blog
perhaps it
needs gestation
a period of
filtration
it can take
more than a year
to find the thing
that kicks it off
not sitting around
tho’
for inspiration
to arrive
or any of that
kind of crap
have to
hunt it down
or wait it out
or do something else

don’t leave
the house all day
it rains
continuously
it could be Wales
daily diet of news
and stuff
appears on facebook
an odd
and chilling mix –
bombing in Syria
shoot-outs in
California
…hey let everyone
have a gun – in school,
in hospital …
it’s safer that way…
dogs playing the piano
anti-war protests
shrinking public education
cutting the Cass
exclusive and not exclusive
art events in trendy places
endless exhibitions, lectures and seminars
banks paying less tax
a dog reunited with his owner
best films in 2015
how do you know if someone
wants to have sex ?
Art Basle
albino squirrels
Pistorious, Goddard
Dali Lamma, Miro
Bjork, Peter and the Wolf
artists + climate change
Paris …..
it’s enough to
send you crazy
no wonder it’s
hard to concentrate

what’s hard to
manage tho’
is the absence
of an end
a show, exhibition, screening
it’s hard
to aim at
nothing
need a place, a space
a date, a deadline
see the work
in terms of
where and how
a process that
unravels to
the end

day fifteen

Austmarka  |  0 degrees  |  sunny + cloudy

missed the
morning sun
instead take
a mid afternoon walk
to the
other lake
the pale
meandering road
is slippery
underfoot
stick to
gritty verges
past the
noisy waterfall
past big white houses
lit up inside
and bigger farms
outbuildings
painted with iron-oxide
smaller ochre
shacks and sheds
dot the
edge of
the lake
there’s no-one about
almost silent
a car
a crow
a distant tractor
they package
the hay
in white
polythene
bundles
like giant
insect eggs
on the side
of the road
someone has made
wooden animals
a deer and
a moose

the rest
of the day
slips through
my fingers
unsettled
distracted
sit around
drinking tea
eating toast
trying to
make more space
on my computer
then daydreaming
drifting
this time
next week
it’ll all
be over

afternoon
drifts into
evening
sit in the studio
the huge black
windows
repeatedly mirror
the space within
dotted with
faint halos
of amber light
two figures sit
heads bent over
flickering screens
get out the glue
and spagehtti
all fingers + thumbs
make another
construction
based on
open windows
at Villa Stenersen
its a compulsive activity
half watching
back-to-back episodes
of Black Books
laughing out loud
almost in tears
the canadian artist
makes coffee
a signal
the start of her day
nearly the end of mine

day fourteen

Austmarka | minus 3 degrees | fog + snow

have lost
a day
somewhere
think it involved,
looking at my
photos,
a late afternoon walk
as the sun went down
in a forest
of iced
christmas trees
not much
happens here
day to day
the point
of the blog,
in a way,
was to have
a daily task
to prevent
excessive
introspection
to pay attention
to notice
and record
but it’s
tricky
trying to find
something
new to notice
every day

the fog hovers
overhead
all day
at the shop
the manager
shows me
his special offers
risgrøt – rice pud
spekeskinke – ham
julepølse – christmas sausage
settle for eggs
and satsumas
follow the river
up to
the frozen lake
the ice
nudges the shore
in broad scoops
like those in
Munch’s paintings of
dancers on the shore
right near the edge
is the sauna
that burnt down
last year
re-built
it opens
once a month
we are
welcome
to strip off
get sweaty
and jump
in the lake
too awkward
too hypothermic

anyway….
back at the studio
SD card is full
and lap top
slips to the floor
causing the screen
to break inside
a black wedge shape
appears in the corner
plus stripes
and flickering
but it works
then get a message
saying
it’s full
too many photos
too much film
too much stuff
prune and pare
file and archive
until
there’s a
tiny bit
of space left
to carry on

good news
tho’
permission granted
to photograph + film
Arne Korsmo’s
modernist villa
in Oslo
book 2 nights
instead of one
in the city …
the Norwegian artist
kindly lists
galleries and museums
to visit
tells me
queen sonja (of Norway)
is a painter!
but was told
to give up
when she asked
Jakob Weidemann,
well known
abstract painter
to teach her
Warhol did
her portrait

work on
the video
takes all afternoon
to align
2 clips
side by side
of jet black
flowing water
one flowing up
one down
not sure what
else to add
am happy with that…
have 100’s
of clips/photos
of trees and lakes
frosted stuff and forests
rippling reflections
but like the
water best
turned
upside down
sideways
flowing the
wrong way
it’s nature
is the same
but it becomes
something else
all
this landscapey
stuff tho’
is tricky – well covered
this site specific way
of working
of thinking
means looking
behind the scenes
under the carpet
in the shadows
searching for clues
for a way in

day thirteen

Austmarka  |  minus 1 degree  |  bright + crisp

the light
in the morning
is vivid pink
until the sun
comes up
around
quarter to eight

by the
lower lake
the rough grass
is cropped
v short
white, hoary
film and photograph
the blunt stubble
the long shadows
the trickling streams
not sure
where
all these images
are leading
a wildernessy
pattern of
dark + light
vertical + horizontal
looking for patterns
motifs
searching for
a sort of chorus
or refrain
or something

afternoon,
well it’s
almost all over
by half past two
the moon is
knocking around
somewhere
and the light
in the studio
becomes cooler + bluer
scrub a few things
from the list
clearing unwanted stuff
from the hardrive
updating website
causing some
dissatisfaction
an overhaul
is needed
reading, writing emails
keeping in touch
keeping residency plates
spinning
photos
3D stuff + shadows
and ‘the’ norwegian video
already unweildy

the norweigian artist
stops to chat
shows me photos
of her last residency
more remote
than this
alone
in a settlement
of just 3 people
3.5km from
a village
she spent
2.5 months
painting + painting
no internet
a cat + radio
for company
peeing in the woods
watching the lake
hardcore stuff

after supper
talk about
films + video
with the young man
from Taiwan
he recommends
2 films he likes
‘under the skin’
sci-fi in scotland
‘a japanese tragedy’
dissolution of a familiy
in post-war japan
later
he looks at
my efforts
+ asks me
‘do you like
to show humanity
in your films?’
ummm…
blimey…
err…
there might be
a distillation
of something…
a sense
a feeling
an undercurrent
uncertainty + anxiety
nothing explict
lurking somewhere
but feel unwilling
or disinterested in
pining down
meaning

under
the feathery duvet
late into
the night
Knausgaard
at last
is finished
compelling
bleak
+ sad in
an everyday way

day twelve

Austmarka | 3 degrees | flurry of snow

bedrooms
are unheated
crispbread curtains
don’t keep out
the chill
that arrives
in the night
shattering sleep
turning limbs
into cold shards
untidily entangling
duvet with sleeper
into a tight ball

sunday morning
time for
tea and toast
burn the toast
most mornings
somehow
the smoke + smell
evoke my son
a fellow
incinerator
hang around
chatting
washing up
sweeping floors
then
look up
big flakes
of snow
are falling
stirred to action
grab my camera
hurry keenly
to the river
try to film
snow falling
on the water
…not easy
brought a flannel
to dry off
the camera
but this is
fuktig snø
and soon
everything is
very soggy

it’s soon over
so settle down
to sorting
ordering
the hundreds
of photos
and video clips
I’ve taken
spend some time
faffing around
on the internet
leapfrogging bits
of information
images, texts
leading this way
and that
until a couple of
hours has gone
forever…
then touch base
through email
sending pics
and checking
all is well
with husband
with daughter
with son
with mum
etc
son asks
what I want for xmas
is it that
time already ?

start planning trips
to museums in Oslo
catching
something new
would be good
something unknown
come across
typical example of
Norwegian Utlitarianism
a modernist place
for a financier
ribbon windows
and pilotis
clean white interior curves
giving way to
rippled pink walls
chrome furniture
sitting on
a big black circle
outside forms include
cylinders and blocks
with splashes of colour
cobalt blue
bitter orange
looks inspiring
for photos + film
it’s only open
once a week

the halfway mark
has been + gone
ten days left
and plenty still
to do
but now time to eat
salmon potatoes salad
piquant pickle
now a glass
of white wine
would go with this
a treat
but for alcohol
a trip to
Vinmonopolet
is needed
a government owned
alcohol retailer
selling expensive stuff
to curb
alcoholic tendencies
it fairly distributes
and limits economic profit
socially responsisble
no doubt
but
quite galling