The Sky Behind Is Exhaustingly Blue (Himmelen bak er slitsomt blå)
2000
Book, 21 x 13.5 cm, 157 p, language: Norwegian, publisher: Oslo: Tiden Norsk Forlag A/S, ISBN: 8210044869.
Materials: ink, paper
Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. B 2025/233).
Literary synopsis
Through a series of short texts which shows different moods and situations, the reader is presented to a young girl, described as a “you”. There is something restless and hunted about “her”, in a way she experiences the world different than what could be considered “normal”. Dream and reality mixes together, and she is haunted by something which could seem like delusions.
Relation of the novel to the artist’s practice
Ulvin’s novels and art practice are two sides of what she both considers her practice as an artist, and a part of a wider art project. The novel relates to her artwork, both as a method of working as an artist, and as a source and part (also physical) for different artworks. The novel develops alongside the making of artworks, and becomes artworks/books on their own premises. The novel works as a source for developing artworks, or vice versa. In relation to The Sky Behind Is Exhaustingly Blue there are no artworks that have an obvious connection to the novel. Nevertheless, considering Ulvin’s overall method and purpose for artistic practise, several of the artworks made in the same period could be of importance for the novel.
Authorship: Artist Author.
Creative Strategy: Artwork-Novel Parallel Lives, Fictional Artist Creates Artworks, Reading Performance.
Genre: Bildungsroman, Plain Fiction, Prose Poetry.
Publishing: Publishing House.
Theme: Childhood, Desire, Everyday Life, Identity, Love, Memory, Performative Language.