Unknown Numbers
In cooperation with Johannes Høie
Unknown Numbers is a 60-meter-long, 4-meter-tall artwork paying tribute to freedom of speech. The work is painted directly onto the Peace Wall outside the Nobel Peace Center.
In June 2016 the construction wall by the Nobel Peace Centre will show a new temporary art work by Johannes Høie and Shwan Dler Qaradaki. Voting rights and the fight for freedom of expression are the inspirational themes behind the work. The idea came from the story of Carl von Ossietzky, winner of the the Nobel Peace Prize in 1935. Ossietzky will also be featured in an exhibition inside the Nobel Peace Centre during the same time period as the construction wall mural.
For Høie and Qaradaki it is crucial that their work will lead to a more widespread consciousness and knowledge about the stories of individuals who have spent their lives fighting for rights that we often take for granted in Norway. At the same time the work is a manifestation of the choices we can all make, to speak out against injustice and oppression.
Located in the vicinity of the city hall, a large audience will have direct access to the work and the message it conveys. It will invite passers by to think about and debate the idea of political art in public spaces, and the role it plays in thematizing our fundamental values.
The working title for the project is «Unknown Numbers). For their joint art work Høie and Qaradaki will draw a selection of portraits of human rights advocates and political prisoners from around the world. By portraying these historic and contemporary individuals the artists will illustrate and problematize the fight for freedom of expression. Carl von Ossietzky, Tahir Elci, Ayat al-Qurmezi, Mordechai Vanunu, Adnan Hassanpour and Nelson Mandela are some of the people the artists wish to portray in their mural. The work will merge the poetic and imaginative with historical and contemporary image material.
For Høie and Qaradaki it is crucial that their work will lead to a more widespread consciousness and knowledge about the stories of individuals who have spent their lives fighting for rights that we often take for granted in Norway. At the same time the work is a manifestation of the choices we can all make, to speak out against injustice and oppression.
Located in the vicinity of the city hall, a large audience will have direct access to the work and the message it conveys. It will invite passers by to think about and debate the idea of political art in public spaces, and the role it plays in thematizing our fundamental values.
The working title for the project is «Unknown Numbers). For their joint art work Høie and Qaradaki will draw a selection of portraits of human rights advocates and political prisoners from around the world. By portraying these historic and contemporary individuals the artists will illustrate and problematize the fight for freedom of expression. Carl von Ossietzky, Tahir Elci, Ayat al-Qurmezi, Mordechai Vanunu, Adnan Hassanpour and Nelson Mandela are some of the people the artists wish to portray in their mural. The work will merge the poetic and imaginative with historical and contemporary image material.