Døgnfluens paradoks (The Paradox of a Mayfly)

 

3 screen video installation w/4-channel audio. 2018-2019.
(Version 2: 1-channel video, HD 8 min w/ English subtitles, 2022)

“Døgnfluens paradoks” (The Paradox of a Mayfly) takes as its starting point the architecture of a local cinema built in 1938 in Lofoten (Norway), in relation to the recollections of the building as a place and space. The institution has played a pivotal role in the lives of local youth for generations, sharing location with the townhall, but is nevertheless a marginalised part of local official history.

The interior and exterior of the theatre was documented, revealing the visible layers of history. The footage was shown on three screens, interspersed by short clips (1-3 seconds) from movies shown in the theatre throughout time, displaying spaces whose origin it’s hard to define. Fleeting shadows barely recognizable to the eye moved across the screens from time to time.

The three video screens were accompanied by 4-channel audio consisting of the voices of 25 locals between the age of 14 and 80 recalling films and memories from the cinema. (A one-channel video was edited together at a later stage.)

The project is about what the physical space of the cinema and the contradictory permanent presence of the ephemeral, reflects and produces.

“Ephemeral” is from the Greek word ephemeros, meaning “lasting a day”. Ephemera is a genus of mayfly, an insect known to die after only one day. “Ephemera” is also a termed used in popular culture for things that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity such as posters, tickets etc.

The installation was part of the exhibition “Homage and Diversion. Reimagining a movie theatre” which also includes the photographer K.O. Storvik, curated by Torill Østby Haaland, at NNKS (North Norwegian Art Centre), 2019.

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Installation NNKS. Photo: K.O. Storvik

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Installation NNKS. Photo: K.O. Storvik

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