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© Skade Henriksen, 61° 28' 50.0268'' N, 5° 26' 20.6016'' E from the project Solastalgia, 2019. Preus museum Collection.
Henriksen has a background as a marine biology research assistant and in this context she came into contact with Olex, a survey and mapping system. This system is used by the fisheries, aquaculture and pipe-laying industries.
Using echo sounders and GPS, data is continuously collected and visualised in 3D images of the seabed. Henriksen has worked with three different fjords, and for many years Titania and Sydvaranger have been dumping mining waste in two of these fjords. There are currently plans afoot to dump waste in Førde Fjord. The work you can see on the wall consists of a visualisation of the seabed in Førde Fjord.
The blue shading in the image shows everything that is below the surface, while the yellow area, what appears to be "sky", shows areas without any data.
Førde Fjord has been the scene of an environmental controversy that has been unfolding since the 1970s, when large amounts of the mineral rutile were discovered in the mountains. The conflict has intensified in recent years after Nordic Mining was granted permission to operate open-pit mines and to dump the waste in the fjord.
Henriksen has been involved in mining issues for several years and her work has included several projects relating to a graphite mine on Senja. Although environmental issues are an important backdrop in many of her projects, her work has several layers. One important aspect of Henriksen's work involves using Olex for working with landscape conventions such as foreground, middle ground and background. In this way she introduces a perspective that cuts across the normal instrumental uses for which the tool is designed.
This text has been taken from an essay written for the exhibition catalogue by Christine Hansen, the co-curator of the exhibition.