Video 20 min – No dialogue
Alchemy is a poetic evocation of the transformation of bread, elevating the baking of this most basic staple into an art form. Here, nature and human culture collaborate. Hands pound, mix, knead, and stretch, revealing the choreographed rhythms and movements inherent in the making of bread.
I was brought up in Arctic Norway, where baking bread was then a living tradition in most homes. My grandmother, mother, and father all baked bread, often six loaves at a time, so it would last the week. When I moved to England, I brought this tradition with me. The white substance sold in shops bore little resemblance to what I would call bread, nor did it contain its nourishment or spirit, so I simply continued baking my own.
As my life and art gradually merged, bread baking also became part of my artistic practice. I wanted to communicate bread making as poetry, an entry point to our lost connections with nature and the senses. This vision became the film Alchemy, which has been shown at venues worldwide and deeply resonated with audiences.
Alchemy has been shown at the following art venues and festivals:
Everything is connected to everything, Østfold Artcenter, Solo exhibition, Fredrikstad
Ilios Festival, Harstad, 2014
Everything is connected, Solo exhibition, Galleri Nord-Norge, Harstad, 2014
DSNY: December Store New York: Stamsund Theatre Festival, Lofoten, Norway 2013
Albright College, Pennsylvania, 2012
Nurturing Nature – artists and the environment, Osilas Gallery, New York, 2011
Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival January 15-17, Nevada City, CA, 2010.
Ecoartspace, “Down to Earth: Artists Create Edible landscapes”, New York, 2009
Globians Doc Festival, Berlin, 2009,
Mixed Greens – Gardiner Museum, Toronto, 2009
Documentary Fortnight, MoMA, New York, 2009
Den Nordnorske Kunstutstilling, Northern Norway 2009-2010, Jury ́s Award
Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival, Toronto, 2008
Desire Lines – Arts and Ecology symposium, Dartington, 2008
Companion Festival of Bread , Devon, 2007
