Apartment Portraits investigates the rooms we live in through a series of sound and video works for living environments, musicians, microphones, cameras and videographer. The project was created by contemporary music ensemble Lemur and artist Ellen J Røed as a joint effort, situated both inside LEMURs tenure as Ensemble-in Residence at the National Museum's architecture department, and within the research project Image as Site at Stockholm University of the Arts.
Through artistic field work they explored three apartments in Oslo: a 1970s apartment at Hovseter, a flat in the Grønland area from early 2000 and one at Sørenga, in one of the city's more recent development areas.
In the resulting portraits, subtle and slow panoramic camera movements portrays the relationship between performed sound and living environments, telling the story of the rooms, their owners, the performers’ actions as well the videographer.
Apartment Portraits was presented at The National Museum – Architecture, Oslo as an installation and as a concert in the framework of Ultima festival of contemporary music and Kulturnatt Oslo 2018.
It was also presented at Bomuldsfabrikken Kunsthall 2018 and at SKH Research Week 2021.
Writer-researcher Hild Borchgrevink presents a reading of the project in her text ARCHITECTURAL REVERBERATIONS, reflections on Apartment Portraits.
Apartment portraits is supported by The Swedish Research Council, Stockholm University of the Arts and The Norwegian Art Council.
ARCHITECTURAL REVERBERATIONS
Reflections on Apartment Portraits by Hild Borchgrevink.
INTERVIEW @ BALLADE.NO
https://www.ballade.no/kunstmusikk/lyden-av-leiligheter
IMAGE AS SITE
Research framework at Stockholm University of the Arts
CREDITS
Lemur:
Michael Duch double bass
Lene Grenager cello
Bjørnar Habbestad flute
Hild Sofie Tafjord horn
Ashley Briggs research assistant, cinematographer
Ellen Røed artistic researcher/director/edit/grade
Christian Obermayer sound
Emilie Emilie Hafskjold Thoresen producer