Traveler
September 26, 2018
Ekebergparken is pleased to announce the unveiling of the 40th addition to our permanent sculpture collection: Traveler (2018) by Tori Wrånes.
The sculpture was unveiled on Ekebergparken’s 5th anniversary on September 26, 2018.
The 4,5 meter tall bronze sculpture Traveler depicts two sportily clad human figures. The lower figure has stuck its head into the ground in search of the underworld. Meanwhile, the second figure balance on the upturned sole of the first. It’s body stretching towards the sky with a backpack on its shoulders. Two birds replace the top figure’s face, wings spread out as if about to take off. With one head inside a rock and the other head about to take off, we are all wondering where this journey is heading.
Wrånes’ sculpture originates from the same ideas and processes as her performative pieces. In her performances, she sculpts bodies, voices and the surrounding space. Costumes and masks are the moulds from which characters and their identity are activated, regardless of their form of presentation.
Hidden or mystical worlds beyond our own is a recurring theme in Tori Wrånes’ work. With a background in music and theatre, Wrånes has garnered international acclaim for her dreamlike performances where she combines sound, musical instruments, costumes and an ensemble of creature-like characters. She often takes on the appearance and role of a troll during her performances, in which she frequently pushes her vocal and physical capacities to their absolute limits. The trolls, representing repressed aspects of our own multifaceted personalities, break with the social and physical limitations of daily human life and unabashedly allow their identities to unfold without restriction. The freedom to be whoever and whatever you want, to explore, feel and travel beyond presumed borders, are fundamental aspects of Wrånes' work.
Tori Wrånes (b. 1978) is one of Norway’s most celebrated contemporary artists and has exhibited worldwide. In 2017 she held a large solo exhibition at the The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Norway, making her the last artist to exhibit at the museum’s premises before they moved to a new location. Her work has been presented at amongst others Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warszawa, Poland; Dakar Biennale, Senegal; Prototype Festival, New York, USA; Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, Nigeria; Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Norway; Sculpture Center, New York, USA; Colombo Art Biennale, Sri Lanka; De Appel Arts Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Grand Palais, Paris; Carl Freedman Gallery, London, UK; 19th Biennale of Sydney, Australia; Performa 13, New York; International Festival in Bergen, Norway; and Lilith Performance Studio, Malmö, Sweden. Wrånes is represented by Carl Freedman Gallery.
About Ekebergparken
Founded in 2011 and officially opened in 2013, Ekebergparken is a 63-acre public sculpture- and national heritage park located on the hillside of Ekeberg in Oslo, Norway. The public park is a result of a public-private collaboration between C. Ludens Ringnes Foundation and Oslo Municipality. The initiative came from real estate mogul and philanthropist Christian Ringnes, is financed by the C. Ludens Ringnes Foundation, and directed by Ina Johannesen.
The park’s permanent art collection, which has reached 40 sculptures with the inclusion of Tori Wrånes’ Traveler, has been carefully selected by an Art Committee. In addition to its extensive international art collection, Ekebergparken aims to be an arena for collaborative, temporary art projects. In 2015 and 2016 the contemporary music festival Ultima arranged light and musical events in the park. Several musical compositions have been performed both inside James Turrell’s Ganzfeld/Skyspace and in Dan Graham’s Ekeberg Pavilion. Ekebergparken has also had the pleasure of hosting the performance festival Soppen in 2016, which was a collaboration with Oslo Pilot and the artist duo Trollkrem.
