But it feels as if the experience-focused, “neutral” curatorial framework simultaneously expects and creates a sense – all-too-familiar in Norway – of a polite reluctance to act. For example, the captivating installation of Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Chai Siri’s short film Dilbar (2013) is in itself well worth the trip. Let us nip any misunderstandings in the bud: Experiences of Oil is a very worthwhile exhibition, presenting a selection of artistically strong individual works, some of which take a critical stance. Photo: Markus Johansson/Stavanger kunstmuseum, MUST.
But is it truly possible to create an apolitical exhibition about oil in the midst of the ongoing climate crisis, and, not least, in the middle of Stavanger, the Norwegian oil industry’s stronghold?Īpichatpong Weerasethakul and Chai Siri, Dilbar, 2013. Their approach to the overall topic – oil – seems purely observational, a non-activist curatorial strategy that has mostly been met with acclaim.
The term “climate crisis” does not even appear in the curators’ presentation, and although they state a desire to “challenge our own self-understanding and role in an urgent, global situation,” I find little evidence of this actually happening. As part of a wider-ranging research project on oil in the arts – a conference of the same name has already been held, and a book release is expected in April – the exhibition has no clear climate agenda. While this is a problem that can be said to apply to art institutions in general, the feeling that all protest is futile is reinforced by the fact that the exhibition Experiences of Oil, curated by Anne Szefer Karlsen and Helga Nyman, seems to harbour no ambitions of changing anything. Screaming inside the Stavanger Art Museum is like screaming into a pillow. Can what is articulated in Nkanga’s installation have any effect on its surroundings, in this case the oil city of Stavanger? It seems unlikely. On the other hand, the voices echo in a space that is perceived as being outside the world, an isolated and almost fictional place with only an obscure connection to the wider community beyond. On the one hand, Nkanga expresses a polyphonic frustration and resistance – even though what we hear is in fact only her own voice, multiplied. After seeing the exhibition Experiences of Oil at the Stavanger Art Museum, this room featuring Otobong Nkanga’s installation Wetin You Go Do? Oya Na (2020) has been the one place my mind has returned to with particular frequency.
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