Welcome to an artist talk at Oslo Kunstforening on Saturday 26 April at 14! On the final weekend of the exhibition Ingenting bra skjer plutselig, we invite you to a conversation about the extensive work Oslo arkiv 2011–2021, which took thirteen years to complete. In this talk, Ole John Aandal meets art critic and writer Nicholas Norton, who co-edited the book about Aandal along with the exhibition's curator, Elisabeth Byre.

• Welcome and short introduction to the exhibition by Elisabeth Byre
• Conversation between Ole John Aandal and Nicholas Norton
• Serving of coffee and pastries
• Special price on the monograph about Ole John Aandal – includes a free tote bag

On 22 July 2011, Ole John Aandal stepped out onto the balcony of his apartment at Ola Narr by Tøyenparken and took the first photograph in what would become Oslo arkiv 2011–2021. The image shows white smoke billowing over central Oslo from the government quarter, shortly after the bomb explosion that killed eight people and injured many more.

Every day he was home for the next ten years – which was most days – Aandal took a new photo of the same view. From an archive of around 3,000 photographs, he has selected images capturing a city in flux, shifting skies, and the changing seasons, presented as an installation in the exhibition Ingenting bra skjer plutselig at Oslo Kunstforening.

Aandal and Norton will discuss the origins of Oslo arkiv 2011–2021, how the work relates to Aandal’s broader artistic practice, his time-consuming process, and the political potential and societal role of photography.

Ole John Aandal has, over four decades, explored the evolving role of photography. He was educated at the Institute of Photography at the National College of Art and Design in Bergen. Aandal is known for series such as Gamle helter (1992) and Samaritanen (1994), where he used digital editing to insert himself into iconic photographs.

Nicholas Norton is a critic and writer. He is a regular contributor to Klassekampen and Kunstkritikk, and has written for publications such as Artforum, Billedkunst, Frieze, and Norsk kunstårbok.

Welcome!