Scenographic Thinking in Oslo
Professor Joslin McKinney was recently invited to take part in
the ‘Scenographic Thinking’ event at Oslo’s Black Box Theatre, a venue committed to experimental forms of performing art in Norway Curated and introduced by Sodja Lotker, international dramaturg and former director of the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, three leading Norwegian scenographic artists talked about their practice, thinking through and with space and materials. Signe Becker is a visual artist who works collaboratively in theatre and dance and who also creates installations and performances often from a starting point of textiles and costume. Jakob Oredsson is an artist, architect and scenographer who works with objects, space and lighting and explores interactive and interdependent relationships of materials.
Fredrik Floen works at the intersection of experimental fashion, performance and costume design, aiming to disrupt dominant narratives of fashion to imagine alternative relationships with clothes. Together we discussed scenographic strategies as a unique way of exploring the world and as a means of presenting ideas and feelings. Central to our conversation was the idea of working physically alongside materials –textiles, clothing, objects, light and spaces (theatres, galleries, outdoors) – to explore and express new ideas about relationships between human and nonhuman bodies of all kinds.
Highlighting the distinctive nature of scenographic thinking is important in the current climate (in Norway and elsewhere) where arts education is undervalued and under threat of closure. These artists showed that scenographic strategies exceed traditional expectations of designing for the theatre. Instead, they open up to interdisciplinary approaches to making, thinking and articulating ideas through materials.
Joslin has published several articles on the idea of scenographic materialism and she is currently developing scenographic approaches to researching urban experience. Her new book ‘Scenographic City: performance design and urban imaginaries’ will be published in 2027.
