From January to March 2025, we have the pleasure of showing BAD WORDS by Kjetil Berge, Jason Havneraas and Signe Holm.
Jason Havneraas and Kjetil Berge have been collaborating on performative video since 2014. This work, BAD WORDS, is the first collaboration with author Signe Holm
Holm wrote and adapted the script, photography is by Havneraas, and art direction by Berge. Everything else, including direction and editing, was done jointly. One of the actors, Benedick Blythe, is a professional, the other, Geir Losnegård, is a friend who suited the role.
BAD WORDS has badminton as a loose starting point - based on Berge's membership of a club in London, where conflicts often arose over trivial matters among the ageing members. Just as they started recording, Russia invaded Ukraine and everything seemed less trivial. The work became an articulation of, and meditation on, birth, ageing, wellbeing and existential angst. Conveyed through dry humour and wet seriousness, in a mountainous militarised parallel universe.
The work was first shown as part of the Spring Exhibition 2024 at Fotogalleriet in Oslo, where it was awarded the Photo Art Prize from Billedkunstneres Hjelpefond.
Norwegian Centre for Technology, Art and Music