Kunsthall Trondheim
Past event

boklansering SMØR Press

We would like to invite you for the release of Karoline Sætre’s book Om å vokse opp / være voksen, published by SMØR Press. The event will start with a reading of a fragment of the book by Sætre followed by a talk between the artist and Hanna Malene Lindberg.

Om å vokse opp / være voksen is a publication consisting of two physically separated but related parts, one is text based (blue and red section) and the other is image based (white section). The blue section presents a collection of texts written from a childhood perspective. Each text relates to a given situation, and the titles of each text sets a sort of stage for the text. The white section is intended to be considered the main part (especially in volume), presenting a sort of photographic diary from the artists’ years as a young adult. This section can also be seen as an intersection between the first (blue) and the last (red) section of the publication, as the third and last part of the publication presents texts written from an adults’ point of view. An underlying story in the text is the relationship between a girl and her father, and how this may change over the years between childhood and adult life. The situations are based on biographic material, although fictionalized.

When working with Om å vokse opp / være voksen the titles of each text became important. Karoline decided to name them in the tradition of Michel De Montaigne, one of the first writers to introduce the essay as a genre. When inflicting this on the literary texts, the question of truth will often appear, and for the artist this works as a conceptual consequence of the publication.

The colors of red and blue are chosen because of its somehow symbolic relationship. The subtle blue refers to the ocean or the sky, and can be thought of as a calm color, while red has the value of something more conflicting: danger or lust is often associated with a bright, deep red. Other than this, these two colors appear as dividers, contrasting to the middle section of the publication.

Karoline’s main interest has been the transition from being a child to becoming an adult, while working with the publication as both a document of time-line and a diary from a thought character. Relationships (between people, and between text and image) has been a part of Karoline’s artistic process the last couple of years, which she believes is a result of living in a society where differences and in-betweens is a part of everyday life.

Karoline Sætre (b. 1992) is graduated with a BA from the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art in 2016 and recently she has moved to Malmö to start a Master Degree at Malmö Art Academy. Her practice lies on the interaction/relation between text and image and is often manifested trough installations or interdisciplinary works. Karoline’s projects include text based works of art, as well as purely literary work in form of poetry or short stories.

Hanna Malene Lindberg is a Master student, Department of Language and Literature, NTNU, and a member of Litterært Kollektiv.

The book is published by SMØR Press. Release event hosted by Kunsthall Trondheim.