Soft Shiny Star City by Øivin & Elvira Horvei
January 14, 2025
Who do I talk to about saving the world? by Hanne Ugelstad
HG46 Project Space, Helgesens gate 46, 0553 Oslo
17 - 19 Jan 2025
17 - 19 Jan 2025
EN: For the third consecutive year, Street Art Oslo is proud to present a solo exhibition by Hanne Ugelstad.
What is it like to love the Earth and all life on it, while the destruction of our livelihoods is streamed directly to our phones? Is it possible to watch helplessly as crimes against humanity are committed daily, and at the same time keep our humanity intact? And are you really capable of taking on the seriousness of the fact that the world as we know it is gone, while at the same time being head over heels in love, with a strong faith in the future and endless optimism?
"Who do I talk to about saving the world?" is an exhibition about caring, loving, hoping, and believing, even when everything seems hopeless. Themes such as love, solidarity, the will to live, and freedom are repeated in colorful figurative paintings on canvas, while the seriousness of our times is also present in the works on display. The is most clearly represented in the work “This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal”, a series of 18 small watercolors painted after screenshots from social media of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Palestine, with one exception: Aaron Bushnell. Aaron set himself on fire in a political protest in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. on February 28, 2024, and is also behind the quote that has given the series its title.
Power and counterpower in society are also addressed thematically and materially through objects made from recycled materials, textile work, and photo-documentation of various interventions in public space, made without permission, in Oslo, Tartu, Nuremberg and Paris under the pseudonym Matriarket (The Matriarchy).
On the occasion of the exhibition, Ugelstad is also releasing the print series “Aaron - This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal” consisting of 18 small watercolors whose motifs are painted after social media screenshots of the genocide in Gaza, Palestine, with one exception: the painting of Aaron Bushnell, who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. on February 25, 2024. All proceeds from the sale of the prints are donated to the Palestine Committee in Norway and Doctors Without Borders.
Hanne Ugelstad (b. 1979) is a social pedagogue, educator, writer, artist and photographer, specialized in working with marginalized youth groups and urban subcultures. She works with art, education, activism, politics, environmental psychology, project development, curation, production, communication and festival management as part of the Street Art Oslo team.
Hanne is particularly interested in topics concerning civic engagement, disobedience and empowerment, and the ways (un)sanctioned art and creative expressions in our shared public spaces can create opportunities for people to experience and interact with the city in new and different ways. Hanne is part of the art-based activism collective Subvertising Norway, which is dedicated to questioning who has the power to communicate messages and meaning in public space. She is also co-founder of Kunst i Mellomrom forlag, publishing independent zines about non-institutionalized art practices.
What is it like to love the Earth and all life on it, while the destruction of our livelihoods is streamed directly to our phones? Is it possible to watch helplessly as crimes against humanity are committed daily, and at the same time keep our humanity intact? And are you really capable of taking on the seriousness of the fact that the world as we know it is gone, while at the same time being head over heels in love, with a strong faith in the future and endless optimism?
"Who do I talk to about saving the world?" is an exhibition about caring, loving, hoping, and believing, even when everything seems hopeless. Themes such as love, solidarity, the will to live, and freedom are repeated in colorful figurative paintings on canvas, while the seriousness of our times is also present in the works on display. The is most clearly represented in the work “This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal”, a series of 18 small watercolors painted after screenshots from social media of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Palestine, with one exception: Aaron Bushnell. Aaron set himself on fire in a political protest in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. on February 28, 2024, and is also behind the quote that has given the series its title.
Power and counterpower in society are also addressed thematically and materially through objects made from recycled materials, textile work, and photo-documentation of various interventions in public space, made without permission, in Oslo, Tartu, Nuremberg and Paris under the pseudonym Matriarket (The Matriarchy).
On the occasion of the exhibition, Ugelstad is also releasing the print series “Aaron - This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal” consisting of 18 small watercolors whose motifs are painted after social media screenshots of the genocide in Gaza, Palestine, with one exception: the painting of Aaron Bushnell, who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. on February 25, 2024. All proceeds from the sale of the prints are donated to the Palestine Committee in Norway and Doctors Without Borders.
Hanne Ugelstad (b. 1979) is a social pedagogue, educator, writer, artist and photographer, specialized in working with marginalized youth groups and urban subcultures. She works with art, education, activism, politics, environmental psychology, project development, curation, production, communication and festival management as part of the Street Art Oslo team.
Hanne is particularly interested in topics concerning civic engagement, disobedience and empowerment, and the ways (un)sanctioned art and creative expressions in our shared public spaces can create opportunities for people to experience and interact with the city in new and different ways. Hanne is part of the art-based activism collective Subvertising Norway, which is dedicated to questioning who has the power to communicate messages and meaning in public space. She is also co-founder of Kunst i Mellomrom forlag, publishing independent zines about non-institutionalized art practices.