Ung Uro

How can the unsettling climates of our times be understood? How can art, architecture, and design that engages with the complexities of our current age be analysed and criticised?

Etymologically, the Norwegian word uro carries a double meaning: it can denote both ‘disquiet and unease’ as well as ‘riot and disturbance’. The word stems from the Old Norse úró and is used to describe political turmoil, social disorder, and a psychological state of restless anxiety. Thus the title of this anthology, Ung Uro (literally ‘young unrest’), intimates the paradoxical tension between describing our new geological condition – the Anthropocene – and referring to the reactions this condition provokes.

In Ung Uro. Unsettling Climates in Nordic Art, Architecture and Design, thirteen young writers, critics, and art historians examine how Nordic visual art, architecture, and design relate to this new state of unease. Their topics span from early 20th century landscape painting to contemporary bio-acoustics, from Snøhetta’s energy-positive architecture to the Sami chant yoik, and from IKEA showrooms to fungi and bees as co-creators of artistic work. The empirical material consists mainly of specific exhibitions, artistic projects, and related events that took place for the most part in Norway from 2018 to 2020, and therefore the book is also a record of critical issues at stake in Nordic contemporary art and culture in the late 2010s. All those with an interest in contemporary art, design, and visual studies, including students, will find this book valuable.

How can the unsettling climates of our times be understood? How can art, architecture, and design that engages with the complexities of our current age be analysed and criticised?

Liv Fallberg

Liv Gunhild Fallberg holds a Master’s degree in Art History and Visual Studies from the University of Oslo. E-mail: livfallberg@gmail.com

Sigrid Steien

Sigrid Stenerud Steien holds a Master’s degree in Art History and Visual Studies from the University of Oslo. E-mail: sigrid.steien@gmail.com

Lena Trydal

Lena Trydal is an artist and writer with a Bachelor’s degree in Aesthetic Studies from the University of Oslo. E-mail: lena-try@hotmail.com

Riccardo Biffi

Riccardo Biffi studies innovation management at Ca’Foscari University. He holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Milan, Department of Philosophy ‘Piero Martinetti’, and the University of Oslo and works as a curator for festivals on environmental sustainability. E-mail: riccardobiffi1@outlook.com

Filippo Greggi

Filippo Greggi studied at the University of Oslo and at Paris Nanterre University. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Philosophy at the University of Milan, Department of Philosophy ‘Piero Martinetti’. E-mail: filippogreggi@gmail.com

Eirik Zeiner-Henriksen

Eirik Zeiner-Henriksen is a freelance writer with a Master’s degree in Art History from the University of Oslo. He is currently writing art criticism for Kunstkritikk. E-mail: eirikzeiner@gmail.com

Tiril Erdal

Tiril Sofie Erdal is currently studying Interior Design at NKI, and pursuing a Master’s degree in Curating, Criticism and Modernisms Cultural Heritage at the University of Oslo, with an Honours Certificate in Environmental Humanities and Sciences. She is also a tour guide at Blaafarveværket and writer for Paragone. E-mail: tirilerdal@gmail.com

Ingrid Halland

Ingrid Halland is an art and architecture historian and art critic. She is Associate Professor at the University of Bergen and the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. E-mail: ingrid.halland@uib.no

Kathrine Helene Skarsholt

Kathrine Helene Skarsholt holds a Master’s degree in Art History from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). She is currently working as a museum educator at Sogn og Fjordane Art Museum. E-mail: kathhss@gmail.com

Martine Hoff Jensen

Martine Hoff Jensen holds a Master’s degree in Art History and Visual Studies from the University of Oslo. She currently works as a communications officer at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, where she is also the editor of their online platform, Art Channel. E-mail: mhj@hok.no

Siri Katinka Valdez

Siri Katinka Valdez is a writer and small-press publisher, with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the Bergen School of Architecture (BAS), and a Master’s degree in Art History from the University of Oslo. E-mail: katinkavaldez@gmail.com

Emma Karlsen

Emma Christine Karlsen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from the University of Oslo, where she is currently pursuing a Master’s degree. E-mail: emmackar@gmail.com

Vera Gjermundsen

Vera Maria Gjermundsen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from the University of Oslo. She has been a journalist for Universitas and is currently working at Galleri Format. E-mail: vera_1709@hotmail.com

Fiepke van Niel

Fiepke van Niel studied Art History at Utrecht University and the University of Oslo, and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Film & Photographic Studies at Leiden University. She has worked with projects and exhibitions at the Nederlands Fotomuseum and at FOTODOK. E-mail: fiepkesofievanniel@gmail.com

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