The Polygonal Journey
Mars 1990
The Nothern Light Planetarium, Tromsø, Norway
The Polygonal Journey was an art installation and also a visual performance. During the time of the installation, the performance showed three times. Willie Flindt, who lived in Japan and was also an actor at the Nô theatre, directed the piece, and Karlsen was an actor and responsible for set design, costumes, and props. The journey as a metaphor was central to The Polygonal Journey – both the ‘visionary, vertical’ and the ‘physical, horizontal’.
“The journey was the central theme, and I was very interested in the relationship between indoor and outdoor. This theme is also found in Namadis. Willie Flindt and I worked closely on this project. He is a nô actor himself and speaks Japanese. This naturally gave him a lot of responsibility for the texts and much of the dramaturgy. In Nô theatre, there are ‘pre-texts’. These are short descriptions of moving from one point to another. As a result, they always introduce a play.
We combined these with excerpts from the Norse Voluspå. Voluspå is a story that recounts the creation of the world, the fate of humankind in it and the future destruction of the world in Ragnarok. The poem ends with a short and glowing description of a new and different world. This description comes from a volve, a nomadic fortune teller or shaman, and is addressed to all of humanity.”
The art project was an outdoor/indoor installation and performance, with some installations placed at the Observatory’s entrance.
Winter cities consept.
Directed in collaboration with Willie Findt
Photo: Photo: Einar Bangsund, Eivind Vorland with others.
