Since 2020, the artists Lise Linnert and Gelawesh Waledkhani have collaborated with the organization Mennesker i Limbo and long-term, non-returnable asylum seekers in Oslo, Bergen, Asker and Trondheim through a series of drawing, embroidery and writing workshops. At Kunstplass i Vollen you will see installations from the project and learn more about the people who have contributed.
BACKGROUND
The project was initiated in 2020, just when the Corona pandemic started. That made our meeting points even more important, as most of the offers that the “paperless” had were closed down. In collaboration with the organization Mennesker i Limbo, we gathered participants in Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim. We met every 2 weeks online and when possible, the “Oslo group” met together in our studio. We worked with drawing, text and embroidery. We worked outside in nature and used the seasons as one of the themes for the work we created. From 2021 until 2022, material that was created has been on an exhibition tour in England.
CURRENT
The work has now returned to us and we are looking forward to resuming the project with an exhibition opening at Kunstplass in Vollen. Drawings, text, embroideries and objects will be presented there. Together with the participants in the project, we want to initiate conversations about what it is like to live in limbo, live “between the rooms” and invite reflections on consequences, identity and belonging.
All the material we have worked with, the various tasks, results and reflections will eventually be presented in a digital platform. We have begun this work which can be seen at https://www.roombetween.com/
The project is supported by: Vederlagsfondet, Norwegian Culture Council, Fritt ord and Asker municipality
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Gelawesh Waledkhani: born 1982 in Kurdistan, lives and works in Oslo. Waledkhani’s artistic work has a humanist orientation where she promotes political, feminist and human rights issues through a poetic handling of media such as embroidery, drawing, installations, film work and workshops. Waledkhani is one of the foremost community-engaged, political artists in Norway and throughout her work she has focused on oppressed and suffering people groups who are victims of the brutality of war. Waledkhani has long been deeply involved in the marginalization of the Kurds and how they have fallen victim to the brutal, political games of the great powers. She embroiders with her own hair on watercolor paper and the expression shows a delicate, withdrawn and intimate expression, while at the same time raising clear human rights questions.
Lise Linnert: born 1964, lives and works in Oslo. Linnert works interdisciplinary, with the main emphasis on textiles. Her conceptual and process-based projects have a political and social starting point. Humanism and human rights are the basic themes in her activist practice. She is passionate about art as a gateway to dialogue, attention and change. The projects are often based on the public’s participation and commitment. Linnert is interested in various public spaces such as exhibition arenas, so that the projects reach out widely and to those who may not otherwise be in contact with the art scene. The time span is essential, and the projects can last for several years or have no end date. https://www.liselinnert.com/
