TRONDHJEMS KUNSTFORENING, 23. APRIL – 31. MAI, 2026
Åpning: 23. april, kl.18.00
Kurator: Oda Pareliussen Austnes
The White Tower [2026]
The Bialowieza Primeval Forest stretches across the border between Poland and Belarus. The forest is the ancient heart of Europe; it once covered large parts of the continent, but today only small patches remain. Now, it stands right at the contested edge of the European Union. This vast, primeval woodland – whose name translates directly to “The White Tower” – is the central stage for the exhibition. It is a structure of immense natural power, a symbol of high, almost untouchable ideals that are now being severely tested, much like the European Union.
The story began with a crisis not caused by nature, but by the actions of people meant to protect the forest. Following the outbreak of a small bark beetle that killed spruce trees, the foresters tasked with protecting Bialowieza cut down large swaths of protected forest areas. This extensive logging went far beyond what was necessary to halt the advance of the beetle and resulted in a gigantic legal struggle regarding the future of the forest.
Tragically, some years after the ecological battle unfolded, the forest has yet again been drawn into a new crisis: the EU-Belarus border conflict. Since the EU imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials, Russia and Belarus have been funneling migrants and refugees to the EU border in an apparent attempt to destabilize the union. The humanitarian crisis has resulted in massive human suffering and violations of human rights on both sides of the border. And since the headquarters of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, happens to be situated in Warsaw, Poland has no shortage of manpower when it comes to carrying out these violations.
This is a forest on visual fire, a landscape where everything reflects its vulnerability, exposing the stresses on the ecosystem and the acute danger faced by those traversing the border. Throughout the exhibition, a special camera has been used to present the forest. The camera mimics an old infrared film used during the Vietnam War. In the images, everything that reflects infrared light, like foliage, turns vividly red. The film was used to find people in the jungle, identify places to drop bombs, and set the forest ablaze. The exhibition delves into not only this technology, but also the ones behind the cruelty at the border, where people are forcefully and illegally pushed back into Belarus, while more than 2700 cameras along the wall look on.
The central work of the show is a film titled “Red Forest Burning,” which was filmed in the Bialowieza forest. The short film blends images of the forest with narratives of similar places, as well as interviews with people who work there. The film was made at a time when the forest was once again under the threat of being completely shut off from the world, following the stabbing of a Polish border guard – an event that directly led to even further militarization of the border area, once again against the will of the people living there.
Ultimately, it is yet another story about the fragility of both nature and humanity at the edge of a great power. As the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, a set of laws heavily criticized by humanitarian organizations, is rolled out across the Schengen area, it is apparent that the survival of both humanitarian principles and ecological integrity will be severely tested in the years to come.
Daniel Hygstedt Hansen [SE/NO]
Daniel Hygstedt Hansen (b. 1991) is an Oslo-based visual artist whose work explores storytelling and ecological issues through novel technology. Since completing his MFA at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts in 2017, he has shown his art in Norway and abroad, including at Kunstgarasjen in Bergen, Artothek & Bildersaal in München, and The Riga Photography Biennial. Daniel’s practice often uses techniques like infrared photography to explore narratives in the world around us. His photography background plays a large role in shaping the installations and works throughout his exhibitions.
Currently, Daniel is working on two projects that deal with the experienced distance that many of us feel toward global warming, as well as other ecological issues. The projects are partially based on a research paper by Susie Wang that delves into the reasons behind this psychological distance, as well as means to bridge it. Some works also explore more personal experiences, like how the ash tree is dying out in the Nordic region, where we once believed that the entire world existed around a giant ash.
