førtifem
The “Førtifem” (“Forty Five”) installation uses several synchronized slide projectors to depict a train journey from Oslo to Debalzewo, Ukraine in 2013. It is edited according to the chronology of the route and emphasises the presence of humans in their physical surroundings as seen through the window of the train.
Alongside the device used to display the images, two asynchronous slide projectors show a typology of train station names and text. One shows excerpts from my grandfather’s diary, which describes his dramatic train journey in the depths of winter 1945 from Gliwice to a labour camp in Debalzewo, Ukraine. While his travels ended in death, my father and his family rode the train to freedom in 1978 from Gliwice to West Germany. Like my father and grandfather before me, I too embarked on my voyage at the age of 45.
The changing light images and the sound of the projectors emphasise the rhythm of the journey and the motions of the train and create an authentic experience of movement.
The installation was exhibited at Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo during the Høstutstilling 2018 (Autumn Exhibition). In the period of 5 weeks the projectors moved slides for over 2.300.000 times.
