H M M M H M
L S E J M E S O S A Y E T I A E D N
E A D N I H S L S S T N C S L D E O
J L L E N E L N D D N I I L L S E J
B K I S E N O É E R E T V H E A D N
D I H D R I Y L R A M S E A J L L E
I N N R G E M L O V I I N Z B K I S
R D I A S L N A E A S R H A D I H D
G N L V A E A H S H N K T I I N N R
I A E D N D M N I N E E A R R D I A
E O A Y O U O G S W O G N L V A E A
D N D M N I N E E A R R D I A S L N
V A E A H S H N K T I I N N R G E M
A S L N A E A S R H A D I H D R I Y
R G E M L O V I I N Z B K I S E N O
D R I Y L R A M S E A J L L E N E L
S E N O É E R E T V H E A D N I H S
E N E L N D D N I I L L S E J M E S
N I H S L S S T N C S L D E O A Y O
J M E S O S A Y E T I A E D N D M N
Bfa Graduation Exhibition 2019
Introduction
hmm mhm mmm
You have to hum it, until you find a rhythm and melody. Say it out loud while standing in front of a work of art, not knowing yet how you feel or what you think about it. This humming is the moment that materialises a-thinking-feeling. It encourages a non sensical, nonlinear, non-analytical processing. It designates that moment before you’ve yet to make up your mind. When your body sways with the work, resonates with a movement or is attuned to something. Or is it rather provoked, disconnected, irritated or infuriated? The thing about not stating, or allowing something to exist within a latent state, is to insist that different things are allowed to exist, next too, or with each other or as proposed in new materialist thinking, through each other. ‚hmm mhm mmm‘ does not have a designated meaning. It’s intonation and inflection. It’s sound. Fun fact: Unlike light, sound needs a medium to travel. Depending on the medium it also travels at different rates. So these sounds need carriers, that’s where you come in. Each of you voicing these words, will inevitable voice them differently. Of all the information our senses can gather, sounds is one of those which is most difficult to shut out, because it catches up on you, really. Hmm mhm mmm are not conventional words framed by meanings and histories. Rather they exist in close proximity to poetry and music. Perhaps it’s an unexpected return to Susan Sontag seminal essay Against Interpretation and in it her plea to experience first, prior to performing the tasks of interpreting narratives and deducing meaning. The intention is not to avoid but to shift emphasise towards different modes of attention, where being distracted or daydreaming are equal to conceptualising.
hmm mhm mmm We live in an attention economy: Attention is a resource and it circulates in a particular way. Therefore we should treat it as any other resource such as oil, gold or water, wisely. Resources are limited, so too is our capacity to be attentive or to engage. Art is no longer privileged in its visual power, it is constantly competing with other fields and media for our attention. Art works are given limited time, seduced by the screens of our phones, or by other types of advertisements or presences - time is stolen away from us and from art. Access of information has created a pressure cooker social landscape: Existing in the western, digitised world requires a continuous-taking stands. Within the space of Norway there’s a growing demand to make public claims in different degrees, to announce which sides you are on in public debates. Yet there’s no time to process arguments from different sides, or to chew over your own reflections or to have enough time to understand how you even feel about something.
hmm mhm mmm Now you will leave these institutional walls and enter the art field as colleagues and peers. There’s no doubt that each of you have the potential to leave a mark, to contribute in a meaningful manner to society at large. Rather than claiming, stating or negating ‘hmm mhm mmm’ attempts to linger on feeling, understanding and relating.
hmm mhm mmm hmm mhm ...mmm Text by Apichaya Wanthiang Assistant professor at Trondheim Academy of Fine Art
Exhibitors
Sigrid Bjelland Niklas Delin Hilde Edvardsen Jonas Greni My Olsson HallĂŠn Louise Oredsson HĂĽvard Sagen Simen Tyse Kristine Wathne Victoria Zahl
Jonas Greni
i i i i i
i i i i i
Jonas Greni
g r e n r e n e n n
g r e n r e n e n n
Simen Tyse
t y s e y s e s e
e s e s y
Simen Tyes
e
e
e s y t
Hilde Edvartsen
d d d d d d
s s s s s s s
e e e e e e e e
n n n n n n n n n
Hilde Edvartsen
e d v a d v a v a a
r r r r r
r r r r r
e d v a d v a v a a
d d d d d d
s s s s s s s
e e e e e e e e
n n n n n n n n n
HĂĽvard Sagen
s a g e n a g e n g e n e n n
n n e g n e g a
HĂĽvard Sagen
n e
n e g a s
My Olsson Hallen
h a l l e n a l l e n l l e n l e n e n n
n My Olsso Hallen
e n l e n l l e n a l l e n
h a l l e n
Kristine Wathne
w a t h n e a t h n e t h n e h n e n e e
w w a t w a t h w a t h n
Kristine Wathne
w a
w a t h n e
Victoria Zahl
z a h l a h l
s
Victoria Zahl
h l
s a s a h
l
s a h l
Niklas Delin
d e l i n e l i n l i n i n n
n n i l n i l e
Niklas Delin
n i
n i l e n
Louise Oredsson
s d e r r
s s d e e r
o s s d d e r
n o s s s d e r
Louise Oredsson
o r e d o r e o r o
o r e d o r e o r o
s d e r r
s s d e e r
o s s d d e r
n o s s s d e r
Sigrid Bjelland
b j e l l a n b j e l l a b j e l b j e b j b
j j j j j j j
e e e e e a
l l l l l
Sigrid Bjelland
b b b b b b b b
d n l l e j b
l l a l a n l a n d
MMM