By shrinking something - whether it is a physical object or a situation made tangible - ideas of abstraction emerge as a working method to gain control over a narrative. This process of reduction can also create attachment and a deeper understanding of the emotions connected to the things around us. These objects, which elicit feelings simply by «being», stand in contrast to humans, who exist in a constant state of «becoming». The exhibition «good resident» is presented as a fragmented home reimagined, partly through interior objects, partly through dollhouses, and partly through frameworks.

Kier Cooke Sandvik (b. 1987) and Kaare Ruud (b. 1993) present both new and older works in the exhibition «good resident» at 69. A recurring theme in both practices is the exploration of power dynamics, approached through sculpture, drawing, and installation. The exhibition presents a constructed space composed of collected scraps, drawings, miniature models, and sculptural tableaux.

 

Kier Cooke Sandvik works with drawing, collage, sculpture, analog photography, and miniatures. His practice engages with sexuality, memory, the body, and an emotional and instinctive approach to the creative process. Anthropologist Michael Taussig describes the «magic of mimesis» as the idea that the creation and existence of an artifact representing something grants power over what it depicts. Sandvik uses memories and emotions as his primary material in an attempt to (re)gain a certain power over them. Through talismanic objects and images, he seeks to activate the viewer’s own history, imagination, and feelings, rather than focusing on his personal background. He creates a world dominated by emotion and instinct, which offers no clear answers but opens up alternative ways of engaging with that which frightens or confuses us.

Kaare Ruud works with sculpture and installation. In Ruud’s practice, site-specific narratives are intertwined with personal experiences to create new stories, built from the remnants of human presence in objects and places. By manipulating the surfaces of these objects and spaces, he explores their affective qualities in a search for a deeper understanding of human experience. Ruud’s works often take found objects and interior elements, which, through visual distortions and animations, are given their own voice. These transformed elements become part of sculptures, installations, and site-specific interventions, where the sculptural gesture is to establish connections between the remnants of objects and the stories, associations, and atmospheres they carry.

The exhibition is curated by Nora Stangebye and Luca Sørheim.