Acutely relevant topics in New Visions—The Henie Onstad Triennial for Photography and New Media

The exhibition brings together works by 22 artists that tackle urgent questions relating to energy production and distribution, the extraction of natural and humanmade resources—from oil to data—and the ecological, social and political consequences of these ventures. The artists have ties to Norway, the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia; regions that are connected by extractive economies.

New Visions 2023 includes several new commissions.

“We are excited to present a number of acutely relevant works to the audience. Visitors are invited to see the infrastructures of Russian air bases in Syria, Ukraine and Belarus as possessive forces, to dive down beneath the surface to follow imagined undersea data cables, and to look down from the sky to observe ongoing geological changes on the Earth’s surface through satellite images. Artists present light both as a source of information and as a tool for policing visibility. They explore national identity-building by repurposing traditional symbols, ornaments, and patterns,” says Susanne Østby Sæther, curator at Henie Onstad.

Many works combine photography with unexpected materials, including salt, algae, silicone, cotton and simulated nuclear glass. Others explore new technologies such as artificial intelligence and synthetic aperture radar—radar signals bounced off surfaces and made into optical images—and their roles in surveillance and planetary observation.

The title of the triennial refers to the Hungarian artist and photographer László Moholy-Nagy’s text A New Instrument of Vision (1932), which greatly influenced the development of experimental photography in the 20th century. In the early decades of the last century, photography enabled new perceptions of an increasingly mechanized and industrialized world. Similarly, today’s artists use photography to explore the entanglements with machines and processes of automation and extraction. 

“Bringing these artists together emphasizes their shared interest in patterns of resource extraction and circulation across physical and digital infrastructures, and the urgency of these concerns. This diverse group of camera-based artists and their experimental approaches outline a series of  ‘new visions’ for a world in turmoil,” says Østby Sæther.

The exhibition includes works by the following artists: Haig Aivazian, Tekla Aslanishvili, Sasha Azanova, Neïl Beloufa, Myriam Boulos, Mark Cinkevich, Marat Dilman, Anna Ehrenstein, Anna Engelhardt, Köken Ergun, Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze, Dilyara Kaipova, Seif Kousmate, Basim Magdy, Almagul Menlibayeva, Ketuta Alexi-Meskhishvili, Kristina Õllek, Monira Al Qadiri, Farah Al Qasimi, Emilija Škarnulytė, Lesia Vasylchenko, Istvan Virag. 

Curators: Susanne Østby Sæther, Inga Lāce and Reem Shadid. 

New Visions 2023 is accompanied by a comprehensive English publication edited by Susanne Østby Sæther. This publication includes a foreword by Caroline Ugelstad, a curatorial statement by Inga Lāce, Reem Shadid, and Susanne Østby Sæther, and an essay by scholar Eglė Rindzevičiūtė, in addition to artist presentations. Design by Håkon Stensholt, ANTI and publishing by Henie Onstad Kunstsenter and Mousse Publishing.

A special thanks to Aars for Aars Commission.

The exhibition has been generously supported by Aars, ABG Sundal Collier, Reitan Retail, IFA and SAHA.  

In brief

Press preview: April 13, 10am
Exhibition period: April 14—September 17, 2023
Place: Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden, Norway
Opening Hours: Tuesday—Sunday 11am—5pm. Thursday: 11am—9pm. Monday closed.
More information: hok.no/en