Birgitte Sigmundstad is a visual artist who works with photography and film. Her films - often stories from Norway - have been featured at several festivals and galleries. 

 

I live and work in Oslo, Norway. My background is in art photography. Educated in England in the 1990´s it is more theoretical than practical. In 2004 I started to make documentaries. Several trips to former Yugoslavia in 2002.2004 changed the way I thought of moviemaking and what it is like to be a Norwegian. The film “If on a winters night a traveller to Serbia” (2008) depicts 15 ways one can make a documentary from a post conflict country. I like to experiment in my work and often apply several methods to the same film. My last documentaries are about an ancient Norwegian agriculture law  - the Norwegian Odial law (“Odel “ 2015). “Hammersborg - Protecting the bygone Future” (2016) is about the Government buildings that were damaged in the 22. Of July bombings in 2011. Recently I have made a slow return to photography and then to the fist love I had for it.

 

The photograph as document. 

 

The pictures were taken in the government quarter in Oslo where the bomb went of 22 July 2011. In 2013, Statsbygg opened the doors to the public. It became a very special experience and I think everyone who was there that day was touched as we walked through these modern ruins. The traces of decay in Viksjøs building the art of Sitter, Nesjar, Tandberg and Picasso on the walls in completely silence gave us a sense that a part of Norwegian history was changed and gone forever. After a long public debate it has been decided that the H-block will be kept in the new government quarter. The Y -block will be demolished. 

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Birgitte Sigmundstad er utdannet billedkunstner og arbeider hovedsakelig med foto og film. Filmene hennes - ofte fortellinger fra Norge - har vært vist på flere festivaler og gallerier. 

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Bildene er tatt i regjeringskvartalet i Oslo der bomben gikk av 22. Juli 2011. I 2013 åpnet Statsbygg dørene for publikum. Det ble en veldig spesiell opplevelse og jeg tror alle som var der den dagen ble berørt av å vandre gjennom disse moderne ruinene. Sporene av forfall som var satt inn i arkitekt Erling Viksjøs bygg. Kunsten til Sitter, Nesjar, Tandberg og Picasso på veggene i helt stille oppganger ga oss en sterk følelse av at en tid og en del av norsk historie var over. Etter en lang offentlig debatt er det bestemt at Høyblokka skal bevares i det nye regjeringskvartalet. Y-blokka skal rives.  

 

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