9 Rivers @ Australia + Norway

Description
9 Rivers is a collaborative project focusing on the importance of rivers. The project team comprises Anne-Britt Rage (NO), Anneke von der Fehr (NO), Josiah Jordan (NZ) and Tracey Benson (AU).

The artists explore a range of media including photography, video, performance as well as augmented and virtual reality. It is the latest chapter in an ongoing project about the connections between water, humanity and culture inspired in part by the Words for Water (2013-) project by Tracey Benson.

9 Rivers explores two different geographic locations – the Oslofjord in Norway and the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia. By looking at two very different ecosystems and climates, the artists hope to draw out narratives from the rivers to tell stories about place, environment and culture.

Old river house at Drammenselva © Tracey M Benson

Twilight on the river Hurum Kirke © Tracey M Benson || bytetime

Website: www.9rivers.org

Concept
The proposed exhibition 9 Rivers is envisaged as a multiple-media exhibition using a range of media including photography, video and augmented and virtual reality.

Creatively the project is linked to moments in time and the understanding of the land and water in recent past, not so recent past and deep past: the shifting and changing of tides and geographies.

We as a group of artists are very interested in the ability of science to tell stories about places and presenting different ways to offer up those stories to non-scientific audiences as a means to expand knowledge and engagement.

Background
The intention with the 9 Rivers project and the overall Words for Water program of work is to engage the audience about the cultural and meditative aspects of water and to remind the audience about taking time to acknowledge the intrinsic beauty of nature and its relationship to us. The project is also about increasing awareness of issues that affect the river system health.

In December 2017, 9 Rivers became part of the ongoing Oslofjord Ecologies project led by Kristen Bergaust. This is a multi-site, multi-year project featuring the work of many artists working on relevant issues related to water and ecosystem health.

About the artists

Biography: Tracey Benson www.traceybenson.com

Dr Tracey Benson is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher and creative producer based in Australia. Specialising in online and screen based art, locative media and site specific installation, her work has been presented in Australia, USA, Europe, New Zealand, India, South East Asia and Scandinavia. In 2001 she received a Research MA from Queensland University of Technology, focusing on souvenirs, nostalgia and personal identity. In 2010 Tracey was awarded a PhD at The Australian National University, which explores online communities, behaviour and social networking tools. She is currently undertaking a research Masters of Science degree focusing on diverse knowledge systems and sustainability behaviour change. In July 2017, Tracey organised SCANZ2017 CBR “Ocean*Energy: From the Mountains to the Sea” – a residency / workshop which focused on the links between Indigenous knowledge, art, science, environment and technology. Participants came from USA, UK, Vanuatu, Aotearoa New Zealand as well as traditional custodians from a number of First Nations in Australia.

Biography: Anne-Britt Rage

Anne-Britt Rage is an artist and co-operator based in Oslo. She is educated in Oslo and Vienna Academy of Fine Arts where she has initiated workshops and collaborative projects. Her works deal with xenophobia, migration and feminism through performance, videos, installations and books. She has a BA in political science and history of ideas from the University of Oslo. She is one of the initiators and administrators of the xeno.no project. She works in the curatorial team of Sound of Mu http://www.soundofmu.no in Oslo and from autumn 2008 she is connected to the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO) and Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

Biography: Anneke von der Fehr

Anneke von der Fehr har siden 90-tallet jobbet med prosjekter både nasjonalt og internasjonalt. Hennes arbeider inkluderer video, installasjon og performance.

Sammen med Trine Wester, startet de firmaet og kunstprosjektet Kunstcatering ans, som utviklet performative prosjekter rettet mot næringslivet.

Anneke von der Fehr is a visual artist and associate professor in visual arts. Since the mid 90s she has been working on projects both nationally and internationally. Her works include video, installation and performance. Together with Trine Wester, they started the firm and art project Kunstcatering ans. They developed performative projects directed towards the business sector of society.

Biography: Josiah Jordan www.lobaki.com

Josiah Jordan started his career as an aerospace engineer, designing and building a space-bound solar imaging camera at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder, Colorado. After 3 years in aerospace he switched paths to software development, creating virtual aircraft configuration software for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Moving to New Zealand in 2009, he most recently was focused on creating cloud-based scalable render farms and a rich web application platform for the Internet of Things space. He now owns and operate Lobaki, a company specializing in teaching VR development to at-risk youth, and creating commercial VR experiences. In his spare time he collaborates on artistic projects, with a focus on DNA music and VR experiences.