FRAMPEK exhibition by Alexis Parra Pucho in Caféteatret and Nordic Black Theatre

productframes. — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:38:59 +0000

The theatreboat MS Innvik left Oslo on the 30th of October 2010

Digital prints on wallpaper installed as wall panels in Cafeteatret. The motives carries memories of MS Innvik.

Frampek or prolepse is the phenomena in narratology or literary theory that there are signs or warnings of what will happen in the future in a narrative. The exhibition is installed in the new venue of Nordic Black Theatre, Caféteatret in Grønland, Oslo.

The theatreboat MS Innvik left Oslo on the 30th of October 2010

The story of this exhibition began when I was desperately roaming the city of Oslo with my hands full of papers, searching for employment. Anything I could get would fit me like a warm glove on a cold hand, to help me survive the misfortune of emigrating on the transcultural Titanic. It was the last place to visit: MS Innvik, a ship converted into a theatre years ago, and recycled since 2001 as the Nordic Black Theatre.

I emptied my hands, displaying these humid, sweaty sheets of paper from hours of walking in a labyrinth of concrete, begging to God. Sitting at a table was a close-knitted group of people discussing something: “Excuse me! Who is the boss…“ with my English derived from the multicultural, sounding like a kind of dialect. A white man read my papers, looked at me, I looked at him…

“Come back next week and we will talk” he said.

With the ambiguous, double-edged privileges embedded in a social democratic society, we have reached an agreement that persists until now.

I started to frequent this place with the intention of making a project, I had no idea how to begin thinking about what to do: I brought my camera, my sound recorder. Some or other of these beautiful and effective toys of advanced technology.. I went out wandering, photos appeared, sounds came and went like a wind. The city is under construction, machines, hammers, excavators, resulting in a lot of noise. Constructing the new city, which will represent new people, a new species, the future of technology, a contemporary society, an enclave inside the old and vanished Viking city. Bjørvika is born! Questions are born: Who decides the future? What do I do with this material?

The ship was in this time the Fort from where I observed the War, but these soldiers of construction advanced without piety towards the fort, what will happen to this huge amount of iron? This place where they danced, they sang, they ate and slept, spaces that for some were like home, spaces fortertulias (informal exchanges and debates), theatre, cybercafé. Consequently, men and women originating in different latitudes, had the possibility to heat their hands inside and look through the windows of the fort at the unknown future. The script of what was staged before their eyes was not clear to them. They could only see from their point of view an army of yellow machines advancing.

Englih version of a Spanish text by Alexis Parra: Kristin Bergaust.

Detail of print from Frampek

The key to the cabin 16

productframes. — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:49:02 +0000

Performance on Friday 29th of October

productframes. — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:06:07 +0000

MS Innvik is leaving the harbour of Oslo

productframes. — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:34:48 +0000

The theatre boat MS Innvik will leave the harbour in Bjørvika at the end of October to start a new life as a church and culture center in the idyllic town of Drøbak by the fjord south of Oslo. Probably few of the people presently related to the ship will follow her, the Nordic Black Theatre and related activities are looking for new spaces in the central Oslo area. They will succeed, but Oslo lost a cultural opportunity many will regret.
Existence in the center of urban development became too rough to comply with for the MS Innvik- strict enforcement of fire regulations proved to be the end of her. Since this spring, all activity was pared down by the municipal fire department. Notably, the ship and its activities had been approved by different official bodies for nine years, it seems strange that it is now thought to be problematic on the verge of impossible to let normal activity go on. The first important part of Innvik to be closed, was the popular, reasonably priced bed & breakfast. Along with the economic asset, went the breakfasts in the mornings, attended by people from Oslo and all over the world enjoying the best view of the opera building and the seascape around it. The fatal attack of the inner soul of MS Innvik, however, was the closing of the theatre for several weeks. When the theatre was allowed to open again, the restrictions were so severe as to reduce the audiences to one-third of what was the former norm.
The said control of security, people’s safety and health seems to be isolated and opposed to what really creates a sense of security and belonging. With MS Innvik, we all loose a valuable platform, some place we could claim as a space of open cultural development in Oslo. Let us celebrate MS Innvik and enjoy her last days in Bjørvika in the hope that a splendid future will follow (let us keep an eye on it).

From the harvest party at MS Innvik Kitchen Garden 28th of August 2010

productframes. — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:33:05 +0000

The shadows of the plants were projected onto the ship’s wall in the evening.

The garden is constructed on the deck of the ship, right outside the door to the kitchen

Kuy is the chef at MS Innvik and has helped us take care of the garden through the summer.
See the plan and results of the MS Innvik Kitchen Garden at this page