Sojourn, video
Duration: 4min
Year: 2015

A short essay film reflecting on the meeting of nature and human interaction in the northern landscape of Finnmark. The images, accompanied by music and voice over, reflect upon views of “the north” as one specific place, as well as some of the language and terminology used to explain and justify the establishment of gas, oil and mining operations in the region. My starting point for working on the narratives in both the images and text is drawn from the input from the sites we visited during the expedition: Karasjok with the Sami language in focus, Kirkenes with the Sydvaranger mine and its massive impact on both the people the nature surrounding the whole city, Hammerfest with its vast nature and Melkøya, representing the bases of the survival of the future of the city. And Kvalsund with the issue of Repparfjord, dividing the locals and threatening nature and the reindeer tracks. Our meeting with Marion Palmer in Kvalsund and her political and literary take on the conflict, the history of the place, and her work in general is an inspirational point for me working on the language in the film.  —Iselin Linstad Hauge

Iselin Linstad Hauge (b.1981) works with film, text, photography and performance. Her work aims to develop a more sensitive awareness, highlighting the relationship between society and nature, with emphasis on the human-animal interaction. Hauge’s work has been exhibited at film festivals and galleries around the world, including Nordic Outbreak in N.Y., Hors Pistes at Centre Pompidou Paris, Moscow International Film Festival and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Oslo. Hauge was educated at the European Film College in Denmark, the National Academy of Arts in Oslo, and the masters program in film at Valand Academy in Gothenburg. She has since 2009 been co-editor and publisher of the nordic art publication Spesial Nord.