An elusive figure dressed in all black, wrapped with tape and protective gear, walks onto the chthonic, dungeon-like stage filled with black conical, spherical, and tubular ceramic forms, grounded and suspended, arranged in an ensemble reminiscent of an abandoned, ramshackle gymnasium. The baroque lighting hyperbolizes the shadows of the forms and performer, showing only slight contours—hints and glimpses—of the installation. In tandem, an assemblage of outré sounds and frequencies echo in the atmosphere, pronouncing the disconcerting uncertainty to come.
He moves a clay circular ring housed in a clay cone, emitting a high-frequency pitch, then kneels and throws a fistful of porcelain beads on the metal sheet; a waterfall of cascading and shattering rattles reverberates—the performance commences. Cacophonic snaring, slicing, and chiming percussions follow; thunderous and gravitational whirs of the pre-produced soundtrack sonically saturate the space while the performer, or rather, composer, throws, drags, pushes, swings, and pulls onto the ceramic sundries, incongruously harmonizing the live sounds with the pre-recorded in euphony. A visceral, corporeal wave of hybrid, nebulous emotions floods the body.
His eyes are masked with safety glasses, his movements calculated yet seemingly spontaneous, projecting confidence or dubieties. A dialogue between the artist and audience emerges: is he acting intentionally or impulsively? Is the soundscape tangible or illogical? Where is he taking us?
The performance, entitled Released Wasteland, is part of an ongoing series by Norwegian artist, composer, and musician Jørgen Haarstad and is a collaboration with Norsk Teknisk Porselen (NTP), the Norwegian Technical Porcelain. His relationship with NTP, a global producer and supplier of electrical porcelain insulators, originated in 2015 with Tulla Elieson’s project Transformator, where he, along with sixteen other artists, was invited to create work using the manufacturer’s products.
During Haarstad’s initial factory visit, a container filled with rings and cylindrical waste piqued his interest. He collected the variegated porcelain cusped stubs, cast them in concrete, and smashed them with a hammer. The result: Lethal Assumption, a 90 by 900-centimeter sculpture resembling a glacial hazardous sight with acute, chaotic dynamism evocative of the Futurism movement. The calamitous content is neutralized by the monochromatic palette—a similar dichotomous aesthetic reflected in his performance installations. His oeuvre all shares the tonal denominator of abrasiveness and aggression—a stark divergence from the artist’s true character of calm and patience.
Haarstad’s relationship with NTP continued after Transformator as he began exploring the sound potential of their products. With the assistance of Tommy Jansen—a sound designer, composer, engineer, and long-time friend and former bandmate—they began recording and constructing an assortment of sounds: cones spinning, rings rolling, hammers smashing, drumsticks beating on clay, and even a mic dropped into a liquid porcelain mixer, resulting in glooping and gurgling noises. The experimental process of improvisation and discovery foregrounds their creative kinship, while their mutual musicality tints their lens, allowing them to perceive the utilitarian ware as audiovisual instruments. In doing so, they metamorphose and eradicate the object's original context, collaging sounds to create an ominous, cinematic production.
Although difficult to quantify, about half of the audio heard during his performances is pre-produced, and the other half is live. All noises, however, originate from NTP, whose high-fired porcelain is pressurized and extruded from machinery to produce rock-hard forms, a density that wouldn’t be achievable by hand. Using porcelain is also crucial, particularly for the tons of upcycled, faulty ceramics used during live performances, as other clays, such as stoneware, lack resonance, producing dead and short vibrations.
The enormous influence of rock n’ roll on his practice is also noteworthy, contributing to his thirst for excitement, destruction, liberation, and courage that guides his mantric direction when performing, thriving on the absence of safety or guarantees. "I don’t want to have a safety net, I don’t want to make sure. I just go for it and if something doesn’t work, I feel like I could keep building up on it. If something collapses, I can build on that collapse.”
And collapse it does—the sixteen-minute performance crescendos as Haarstad, squatting, breathing heavily, and perspiring profusely, spins a 70 kg cone with his hands. The ultimate climax arrives as the cone is smashed into unrecognizable shards. He walks off the stage. The space is left in ruins, scattered with debris, mere remnants of what it once was. The pre-recorded production no longer plays, leaving only the lingering clinks of ceramics still oscillating from the refined violence and force of the performance.
Click the image to watch the full performance
Visit Jørgen Haarstad's website to learn more: CLICK HERE
