Martiens Bekker – Narcoleptic Scrap Artist
Norway
2014
Mid 2014 we as a
family decided to move from the UK to Norway. An opportunity presented itself
and as it goes in life, we decided to act on it. We settled on invitation on a forestry-farm
called Nesland in the district of Vinje, an area in Telemark with our nearest
town being Åmot.
I would return working
in the Forestry industry as I have a qualification therein. In short it was a
mistake and the opportunity also turned out to be not what we thought it would
be! It was an expensive mistake.
Being a South African
citizen, I had to follow the International rules on immigration and lost my UK
visa in obtaining Norwegian residency. In short it meant that unless we find
funds to return to the UK, we are stuck in Norway.
In the end the mistake
we made turned out not too bad after all, but later more on that. While
residing on Nesland, I used some of our hosts equipment and created my first
Norwegian sculpture – a hand carved out of wood. A hand reaching upward as if
its owner have been swallowed up or perhaps drowning. Perhaps it was the artist
in me, at that moment! (See the Nesland Hand)
I also created
numerous clay sculptures while staying at Nesland.
2015
Feb 2015 Snøforming
Nøkler Kube. A venue held in our Local town, Åmot, mainly privately organized
by Alexander Stettin and supported by students from a German Architectural
University.
Snow gets compacted
into 3m x 3m x3m blocks and then carved into various forms.
April 2015, I manage
to find a workshop in the basement of an unused school at Vinjar also in the
district Vinje, thanks to our local Rådsmann, Anders Sandvik.
I started setting
myself up in the Bomberom (Bomb Shelter) of the school and later added a steel
10m container in which I did my welding and gas related work.
Again, our Assisterende Rådsmann
arranged a meeting with myself and the local waste/recycling company who gladly
gave me a very reasonable contract and access to the scrapyard.
At this point I have
lost almost a year in creative time and had to import my tools and equipment
from Cornwall to Norway. Once ‘set up’ I started to produce art in similar
insane speed as in Cornwall and South Africa.
There was however
another problem. Vinje, Telemark and probably the rest of Norway is an art
desert. You cannot even start to compare Norway with the UK art scene. One
needs to however consider the strong traditions and the small amount of people
living in Norway.
A big paradigm shift
was needed, and it is still something I have not manage to short out entirely.
I started to have exhibitions where ever I can, which was almost nowhere since
we landed up an extremely rural part of Norway.
My wife, Amanda and I
however fell in love with the Norwegian wilderness-simplicity which surrounded us,
and we decide to stay and make the best of it. Both our boys were doing well at
school and took learning a new language in their stride. Very proud of them!
June 2015 I staged an
exhibition at a well-known traditional bakery called Mjonøy Bakkeri. Here bread
is still baked using a very old Nordic method. We setup a solo exhibition in
Mjonøy Bakkeri road-side shop, called Mjonøy Byg and although we had very low
number s in visitors, I still managed to sell. Some pieces went off to the
Netherlands and Germany! (Photos…)
December 2015, I
performed a solo-popup exhibition in a vacant shop in the only shopping center
of our town Åmot. It proved to have been a reasonable success and I had some
significant sales, but also some valued exposure.
The December popup
exhibition led to Amanda and I undertaking a yearlong project in creating an
art-based coffee shop café called NoKo, in the Fristadsenetret, Åmot. I
designed and built an art wall using my typical scrapyard recycling approach.
The African creativeness embedded in my veins, naturally flowed into a scene
never seen in these parts before.
2016
During 2016, we agreed
to be part of the Project Agreement and requested by the owners of the
Fristadsenteret, I had access to an empty space, separate but also a part of
NoKo. Together with my wife Amanda managing the coffee shop, we curated a solo
exhibition for almost a year. With steady growing numbers of customers and
visitors, I again managed to have significant sales.
Feb 2016 Snøforming
Bear. A venue held in our Local town, Åmot, mainly privately organized by
Alexander Stettin and supported by students from a German Architectural
University.
Snow gets compacted
into 3m x 3m x3m blocks and then carved into various forms in only two days. I
carved a Bear.
Beginning June 2016, I
landed up in ICU with a Staphylococcus infection in my lower spine. This was
two-month setback, but also an eye opener that life is not guaranteed!
Mjonøy Internasjonale
Smedvetling - Blacksmith Challenge 22 - 25 Aug 2016 (Organiser) With some
sponsorship from the Vinje Kommune and Mjonøy Bakeri, I organized a revival of
Blacksmithing in Vinje. I invited two prominent Blacksmiths, Finin Liam Christi
(Ireland) and Yaron Bob (Israel), an they had a Challenge to create a Scrap
metal Goat. Interest from the public kept us busier than expected and we only
managed to get the head done.
Late 2016 we managed
to purchase a 1948 log house with a sizable plot closer to town and started
renovating it beginning 2017
2017
Since I have started
solely performing art, I had ‘built’ nine workshops between South Africa, the
UK and Norway. I always had to rent from someone and then convert and or adapt
an existing structure into a suitable workspace.
These structures were
a stable (Zoutwater – RSA), a very old garage (Philadelphia – RSA), two small
factory sheds (Philadelphia – RSA), an partly open steel shed (Tregath Farm –
Cornwall, UK), an unused milkery (Trewornan Farm, Cornwall, UK), part of cattle
barn (Port Gaverne – Cornwall, UK), a Chicken shed (Nesland Farm, Vinje -
Norway) and a Bombshelter (Vinjar School – Vinje, Norway).
For the first time I
had the opportunity to build my own, but zero funds to do so. With a small
private loan, I started using logs and scrap metal, in combination with two
shipping containers of which damaged, but still useable.
At the time of writing
this is still an ongoing project and smaller Blacksmith shop had been added.
Mjonøy
Internasjonale Smedvetling - Blacksmith Challenge 22 - 25 June, 2017 (Organiser) Again partly sponsored sponsorship
by the Vinje Kommune and Mjonøy Bakeri, I organized a second of Blacksmithing
event in Vinje. Both Blacksmiths, Finin Liam Christi (Ireland) and Yaron Bob
(Israel), were willing to join us again. This time they had a Challenge to
create some tools for the event and had to create five items which the public
could then judge
July 2017, I was
invited by the Straume Galleri in Øyfell to take part in an exhibition. On
request of the Galleri my art stayed in situ to date. During this period, I took
part in two specific exhibitions arranged by the Straume Galleri.
Plans:
https://europartfair.com/
