Edition: Ole John Aandal

The extensive work Oslo Archive 2011–2021 consists of several hundred photographs capturing the same view of  Oslo, all taken from Aandal’s balcony at Carl Berner over a ten-year period. In connection with the exhibition at Oslo Kunstforening, Ingenting bra skjer plutselig, three special editions have been produced in a limited run of 30, each signed by the artist.

Ole John Aandal
Oslo Archive 2011–2021
21 x 30 cm (A4)

Regular price: 5000 NOK
Member price:  4000 NOK

5% BKH fee will be added to the price.

If you wish to purchase the edition, please contact us at post@oslokunstforening.no or visit us at Oslo Kunstforening during our opening hours, Tuesday to Friday 12–17, and Saturday to Sunday 12–16.

Over four decades, Ole John Aandal (b. 1960) has explored the changing role of photography – from analog documentation to digital mass communication – and how this has influenced society’s self-perception This exhibition is the most extensive presentation of Aandal’s work to date. The exhibited works range from photographs taken in Palestine for Klassekampen in the late 1980s, through photographs that were digitally manipulated in the 1990s, to a new installation based on images of Oslo's transformation after the terrorist attack on 22 July 2011.

The extensive work Oslo arkiv 2011–2021 (2024) consists of several hundred photographs of the same view of Oslo city center, all taken from Aandal’s balcony at Carl Berner over a ten-year period. The first image is from the dramatic day of the 22 July 2011 bombing, showing the smoke rising above the government quarter. What follows are hundreds of images documenting subtle changes in the cityscape: the passing seasons, growing trees, shifting facades, sunsets, and windows lighting up and dimming. It is a narrative of life passing by and a city transforming, with the catastrophe and act of terror as an ever-present backdrop.

The work’s blend of poetry, documentation, and underlying politics is characteristic of Aandal’s approach. Aandal often spends years on a project, with long intervals between exhibitions. Perhaps this explains why his artistic practice has, until now, remained somewhat secret or hidden. The title Ingenting bra skjer plutselig [Nothing good happens suddenly] captures Aandal’s ambiguous relationship with time – the tension between the momentary and the slow, the contemporary and the historical. Although his works often originate from current events, they develop through a slow and meticulous process. Despite his engagement with contemporary issues over a 40 year period, his practice is remarkably timeless.