01.09.24 - 15.09.24
THE SAND SCHOOL
In the first half of September, an unusual experiment took place at Velferden, where six visual artists - Siri Austeen, Stefan Schröder, Agnes Mohlin, Naomi Fisher, Maiken Stene and Hans Edward Hammonds - studied the material properties of a 7 million ton sand pile that we have lying in the backyard at Velferden. The sand is called "tailings" and is an accumulation of waste from the production of the white pigment titanium dioxide in Sokndal municipality.
During the two-week workshop SANDSKOLEN (The Sand School); we carried out physical experiments on the sand by making art with it, trying to make glass out of it, sculptures, extract sound and metals, and generally study its internal composition in conference with experts from the mineral industry, and through talk with locals - whose walking shoes regularly fill with sand. Together, we engaged in a process-oriented exploration of tailings as a material for art production and a metaphor for broader environmental and industrial issues.
Click on the individual artists below to see the results of the process.
Hans Edward Hammonds
Maiken Stene
Agnes Mohlin
Naomi Fisher
Siri Austeen
Stefan Schröder
After the two-week exploration, SANDSKOLEN joined forces with the research project NorWhite, and welcomed to Sokndal for a two-day programme with an international symposium, exhibitions, performance and artist presentations. The programme was conducted in English to accommodate our international guests.
PROGRAMME SATURDAY 14. SEPTEMBER 2024
Symposium day 2 SANDSKOLEN at Velferden Center for Contemporary Art:
09:30 - Bus departure from Stavanger bus terminal to Velferden
11:15 - 11:30 - Presentation by Maiken Stene and Hans Edward Hammonds
11:30 - 11:45 - Introduction to the exhibition Hidden Stone by Marte Johnslien
11:45 - 12:30 - Lunch at Velferden - (available for purchase)
12:30 - 13:30 - Artist talks with participants from SANDSKOLEN: Siri Austeen, Stefan Schröder, Agnes Mohlin, Naomi Fisher, Maiken Stene and Hans Edward Hammonds
13:30 - 16:00 - Workshop in groups with field trips and performance by Marie Ronold Mathisen and John Derek Bishop
16:00 - Bus departure from Velferden to Stavanger
18:00 - Arrival Stavanger
© Hans Edward Hammonds