The White Paper

Oslo Central Station, Norway, 2016.

An invisible force of nature has caused large sheets of paper to fly along the façade of Oslo S. In this frozen moment a whirlwind shifts the perspective. In the eye of the storm, on the inside of the façade, the sheets are of standard size, while along the façade, they are over-dimensioned.

The inspiration for the installation is the A4 sheet, the international standard designed by Walter Porstmann in 1922. Norway was one of the first countries to introduce the A format, in 1926, following a recommendation by the Deutsches Institut for Normung. Today the A format is used by almost all countries worldwide.

What does a piece of paper mean? To be without valid papers and paperless has unfortunately become a familiar term for all and a reality for many. The blank page is often seen as the symbol of a growing bureaucracy, where papers are passed around in the public’s interest. The blank page also suggests opportunity and new beginnings.

The A4 standard intended to create order in chaos, streamline, and create a universal format that everyone could agree on to facilitate exchange and contact between countries and people. In the limitations of its format lie a big idea, one of freedom and understanding.

The installation is also an homage to Hokusai’s famous woodcut Ejiri in Suruga Province from 1832.

In collaboration with Kulturbyrået Mesén, Rom for Eiendom.