| PCAI Collection artist Rindon Johnson opens his Bergen Kunsthall solo exhibition on May 22, running concurrently with the Festival Exhibition 2025. For this exhibition, Johnson presents a series of works that extend his ongoing investigations into autonomy, surveillance, and material histories. The title, drawn from archaeology, reflects how meaning is shaped by context and discovery.
A live-streamed projection of Lille Lungegårdsvannet—the lake just outside Bergen Kunsthall—forms a central part of the exhibition, cast onto a slightly modified gallery wall. This continuous visual feed captures the passage of time and shifting environmental conditions, positioning the lake as both subject and reflective surface: an image continuously generated, yet never fixed. A deliberate sculptural intervention keeps the gallery window open throughout the exhibition. Air currents, shifting light, and the sounds of the city become active components of the installation, further complicating the boundaries of where the artwork begins and ends.
Johnson also presents a new series of ceramic tiles, pit-fired using cow dung as the primary fuel—a material choice that reflects his interest in transforming discarded elements into something of value. The tiles, treated with pigments including indigo and titanium white—the latter sourced from Norway and known as the brightest white—serve as material records of transformation. The exhibition also features a mahogany clock marking an alternative temporality—one tied to histories of colonialism and trade. A collection of fossilized whale ear bones introduces yet another temporal and spatial register. Used by whales for navigation, they hint at alternative ways of sensing vastness and deep time. A poetic text by Johnson adds a further layer of reflection.
Curated by Silja Leifsdottir.
Rindon Johnson (b. 1990) is an artist and poet working between New York and Berlin. He has presented solo exhibitions at Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai; CC Strombeek, Brussels; Chisenhale Gallery, London; the Julia Stoschek Collection, Düsseldorf; SculptureCenter, Long Island City; among others.
Activity aligned with Goals 3, 14, 15 |
