The MoW student group on a field trip to the sand deposit of the former Titania mine at Sandbekk, Rogaland. Photo: Marte Johnslien.

TiO₂: The Materiality of White

Oslo National Academy of Arts, Art and Craft Department

Led by associate professor in Ceramic Art, Marte Johnslien.

The protagonist of the artistic research project ‘The Materiality of White’ (MoW) is the white pigment titanium dioxide (TiO₂). MoW investigates the materiality of the colour white in ceramic processes, archival research, and through an analysis of Norwegian industrial production of the pigment—both in myth and mining. 

The aim of the project is to highlight TiO₂’s materiality and ubiquity, contributing to critical thinking on the colour white and its mineral origins. The act of making TiO₂ visible will be achieved through ceramic sculpture, the development of a technical compendium on TiO₂ in ceramic glazes, exhibitions that contextualise its historical significance, and theoretical and critical reflections published in articles and book projects.

‘The Materiality of White’ builds upon Marte Johnslien’s PhD in artistic practice from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (2020). Running from 2022 to 2026, the project collaborates closely with the academic research project ‘TiO₂: How Norway Made the World Whiter’, led by art historian Ingrid Halland at the University of Bergen and funded by the Norwegian Research Council (2023–2027).

In this presentation, Marte Johnslien will provide an overview of the project’s development over the past two years. She will share reflections on the opportunities and challenges of cross-disciplinary research between the arts and academia, particularly in relation to the attention the project has received in social and traditional media.

Website: tio2project.no

Instagram: @tio2project