Shapes of Breath
(under construction)
RAM gallery, Oslo - 4th of November - 5th of December 2021
(Text from the gallery's presentation of the exhibition www.ramgalleri.com)
The exhibition presented a series of performative glass works and site-specific installations, as well as cast glass.
A publication was made for the exhibition, it can be viewed here:
Shapes of breath- RAM publications 7th issue (2021) ISBN 978-82-692454-5-5
To cast a breath in glass:
Make a silica and plaster mould around a blown Expression of Breath, fill it with glass frits or chunks or both, and fire it in a kiln at approximately 840 degrees. Cool it down slowly over 14 days, cross your fingers that it worked, it's only one go - remove the mould material.
Låne pust (Lend a Breath)
Another key piece in the exhibition is the work Låne pust (Lend a Breath). It allows the public to enter the gallery space, borrow a performance kit with a glass bubble with someone else's breath and take it out of the gallery for an exploration, supported by audio guides. The work activates a relationship of trust, between the artists, the person that shared their breath and the person that borrows it. This art work relies on fundamental human values of solidarity, care for others and trust - key elements of Frantzsen&Mjanger's artistic practice.
We call the glass shapes Expressions of Breath.
The unique sculpture captures the dialogue between the person blowing into a gather of glass and the glass's response to that breath.
The glass's rapid transition from liquid and hot to cold and hard makes it possible to preserve this moment.