A visit to Oseberg Sør turned out to be an experience of a lifetime for the five artists who have been chosen to provide cultural input for the new building at Sandsli. They ranked the offshore visit on par with a study trip to New York or Mongolia.
The five artists: Eline Mugaas, Kjell Bjørgeengen, Thorbjørn Sørensen, Ole Jørgen Næss and Thomas Lund were delighted to have the opportunity to learn more about the activities that people will be working on in Hydro's new building at Sandsli. Before they left for Oseberg Sør, the architect Jack Sæterdal explained the basic intentions behind the design of the building. The artists also saw where their works would be placed.
"We wanted to give them an insight into the activities carried out at Sandsli and offshore - an industry that is vitally important both in a Norwegian and an international context. If the visit also gives them inspiration they can use in their work, that will be an additional bonus," explains information manger Gisle Johanson, who accompanied the artists on the tour.
The artists arrived on the platform with their hands full of large cameras and video recorders, and platform manager Per Andersen and safety manager Svein Harald Riise were kept busy following them around the installation in search of interesting angles and exciting motifs.
"This has been an experience of a lifetime," said jazz musician Thomas Dahl after the visit.
Dahl will produce the music for the opening ceremony. Photographer Eline Mugaas and painter Thorbjørn Sørensen are working on visual art that will hang in key areas of the building. Ole Jørgen Næss will decorate the glass walls in the conference wing on the ground floor, and Kjell Bjørgeengen will provide the videos to be shown on screens in the entrance area.