A BUILDING FOR HøYEM (2023)


INSTALLATION VIEW


This handmade artist book features numerous intricate details from a single photograph from the archive of Johnson & Sotberg. These photographers worked in Bodø, Norway in the 1950’s-60’s, documenting various stages of construction projects during the town’s complete reconstruction, following bombing in WWII. Originally commissioned by an engineer called Høyem for insurance records, the original photograph is a purely practical and detailed record of a hand-built scaffolding system that was constructed ad-hoc by local builders and carpenters, using materials that were readily available at the time.


The Artist Book (2023), along with the original photograph ‘A Building for Høyem (1963)’, were presented (with thanks to the Arkiv i Nordland) as part of the exhibition ‘At The Farthest Edge: Rebuilding Photography’ at NŌUA, Bodø, Norway (2023). The venue was just one block away from where the temporary structure was built and photographed 60 years earlier.