Solo exhibition Røed Gallery Moss, Norway

"I am trembling and I am afraid"

Art is often about personal experiences, reworked by the artist into something others can recognise themselves in. For me it is the exact opposite: in my paintings I try not to depict anything personal. A great deal in my life has been problematic and difficult. Out of the need to free myself from this, I have created "Pictures from No Man's Land". It became a place where I could be at peace. An abstracted landscape, where I turned my back on everything I no longer wanted, or was no longer able, to relate to. Likewise with "Schnittketriptykhonene", the Schnittke triptychs: a tribute to a wonderful composer whose music does exactly the same for me, taking me to other places where I can experience harmony within chaos, beyond the material world I am a part of. In addition there is the presence of people in the paintings, the healing that can be found in another person's eyes. Jesus Christ on the cross, "I am trembling and I am afraid", is always just as relevant. Whether or not one calls oneself a believer, for me it is first and foremost a symbol of sacrifice, hope and salvation. The mysteries and possibilities of the infinite, beyond our earthly life. Whoever you are, I believe art can offer a breathing space. Accompany you on your very own journey, to the places you need, so that life becomes easier to cope with. In times like the ones we live in, this is perhaps more important than it has been for a long time. Faith, hope and love mean a great deal to all of us; without them we do not stand a chance. Art can give us all of this, again and again, if only we take the time. Show us the way, so that perhaps we can also find our way to others...