Toril Johannessen

Deterrence and Reassurance

The exhibition Deterrence and Reassurance at Tromsø Kunstforening / Romssa Dáiddasiida directs attention to how geopolitics and military presence shape society and everyday life in Norway, with a particular focus on Northern Norway. The works in the exhibition form an interwoven civil-military landscape, and thematize how militarization and soft power leave their mark on language, landscape and experiences of safety and unrest. Previous editions of the exhibition have been shown at Bergen Kunsthall as the Festival Exhibition 2024, and most recently at the Nordnorsk Kunstnersenter in Svolvær.

Image above: Notes from the deep to the cold peace 1989 – 2025, book with photo copies and texts. The book is available in the exhibition in English and Norwegian.
Photo: Mihály Stefanovicz / Tromsø Kunstforening

Deterrence and Reassurance

The exhibition Deterrence and Reassurance takes the geopolitical situation in the Norwegian High North as starting point, and is a reflection on the presence of the military in the landscape and the social imaginary. The exhibition consists of an installation to walk and sit on in the form of hand-woven rag rugs made from military textiles, as well as screen prints and documentation from an unrealized memorial project.

Photo: Thor Brødreskift

Monument Algae

Monument Algae is a work in progress about algae and biodegradation of monuments. Algae biofilms on stone surfaces can be both protective and destructive. Which algae grow on what monuments, and are they protecting them or slowly taking them down?

The project is in the start-up phase, and the first step is an installation at die raum in Berlin from 25 August to 17 November 2024. The installation consists of three slabs of limestone inoculated with algae scraped from the surface of monuments in Berlin. A simple irrigation system keeps the stone continuously moist to facilitate algae growth on the surface. With Monument Algae, we want to create a living sculpture that stimulates the growth of microalgae and makes them visible on a monumental scale – to visualise the power of microorganisms in general and in man-made environments in particular.

Marjolijn Dijkman and I have been collaborating since 2008. We both primarily work on our individual art practices and occasionally collaborate on specific projects.

Supported by OCA-Office for Contemporary Art Norway; Norwegian Embassy Berlin

Photo, left: Sampling algae from Sowjetisches Ehrenmal, Treptower Park, 23.08.2024. Photo, right: Installation at die raum, photo by Jan Windszus

Measures – Survival Kit 15

The 15th edition of the Latvian Center for Contemporary Art’s (LCCA) annual festival Survival Kit, titled «Measures», is curated by Jussi Koitela and takes place at three venues in Riga. I am participating in the exhibition with the work “Imaginary Networks” and with a selection of works from the series “Words and Years”.

From the press release: «The exhibition celebrates the different modes and temporalities of knowing by exploring material, cultural and social meaning within Riga’s urban context. It observes and investigates how the ecologies of knowledge that play an integral role in a city’s contemporary life, can help to create imagined narratives that shape the future of communal existence as we know it.»

Tilstedeværelse / Presence

Solo exhibition with works from the project Presence.

Image: Locating the High North (I)