Artists
Anne Tveit Knutsen, Arne Rygg, Astrid McGarrighan, Birgit Eide, Bjarte Bjørkum, Brynhild Grødeland Winther, Eleanor Clare and Dillan Marsh, Gunhild Sannes, Harald Tørresen, Judith Elisabeth De Haan, Karina Herteig, Kristina Austi, Kwestan Jamal Bawan, Laura Gaiger, Lillian Presthus, Manuel Portioli, Rita Marhaug, Sara-Marie McGarrighan, Siavash Kheirkhah, Tone Andersen, Tove Tømmerberg, Trine Hovden, Vibeke Rød Kjøde
Curator
Jane Sverdrupsen, Managing Director of Kunstgarasjen
The most fundamental aspect of the human experience of time is the generational shift. It is an existential facet of being alive and serves as a reminder of our individual impermanence. At the same time, this process is a continuity that we as humans are part of—one that extends beyond our own lived lives, where the legacy of previous generations is capable of shaping what happens in future ones. Studies in epigenetics have shown that experiences and traumas can cause measurable biological changes that are passed on to the next generation, supporting the idea that past events can influence future people on a genetic level (Yehuda & Bierer, 2009). The actions of successive generations collectively influence the overall development of society, and thus also play a role in one’s life, even if one does not have children of one’s own.
Parenthood is a fundamental and transformative experience shared across cultures. However, this universal endeavor reflects the complex social, cultural, and political currents of the time. Research from Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory demonstrates how children’s development is shaped by interactions at both micro-levels, such as family and local environments, and macro-levels, such as the political and economic structures of society (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). In our contemporary world, the youngest generation expresses growing concern for the future. According to UNICEF's report *The State of the World’s Children* (2021), young people worldwide report increasing stress related to climate change, economic instability, and global conflicts. These challenges form the backdrop navigated by those currently growing up, as well as by their parents. What is it like to raise children in a time when such challenges dominate views of the future?
Kunstgarasjen’s member exhibition *AVKOM* focuses on a central theme that gathers diverse artistic reflections on the dynamics between generations, both through personal narratives and broader social commentary. The artworks in the exhibition describe children’s lives and circumstances through a parent’s eyes, as well as the artist’s reflections on having once been a child within a family with its own history. The exhibition offers glimpses of how environments shape experiences and circumstances tied to specific upbringings, and how the prevailing zeitgeist influences views of children and parenthood. The artworks delve into aspects of parenthood related to symbolism, conventions, and role expectations, combined with the biological and caregiving dimensions and the close bonds inherent in family ties.
With this, AVKOM becomes an artistic approach to the discourse surrounding how society shapes its most impressionable members and what this means for how we live. The exhibition provides an opportunity to experience works by 24 artists that reflect on the experience of parenthood and family relationships in our time, thereby examining humanity’s relationship with the past, present, and future.