VALMUESLEKTEN
Marit Arnekleiv and
Marte Meling Enoksen
Marit Arnekleiv, Form, 110 x 98 cm, photography, c-print
November 30 - December 14
Prosjektrommet , Kunsthall Dikemark
The exhibition Valmueslekten is based on the photographic material from the book of the same title, which is part of the book series TILT , published by Harpefoss hotell kunstarena in 2025.
The project is a result of artist Marit Arnekleiv's work stay in the remaining buildings of Toftes gave on Helgøya in Mjøsa .
The exhibition consists of both individual photographs and an installation. The installation is a collaboration between Marit Arnekleiv and Marte Meling Enoksen. The latter was also responsible for the design of the book.
As the country's first child welfare institution, established in the 1870s, Toftes gave shares many similarities with how Dikemark Hospital was established, and the visions that characterized the institutional operations of the time. This historical parallel adds an extra dimension to the project in that both the exhibition and the book are now presented at Dikemark.
The project seeks to highlight history as an essential experience – including the parts that are not recorded, that have been overlooked or under-communicated. History is not treated as a closed chapter, but as a living narrative in which the gaze of the present can help identify and illuminate contemporary parallels.
In the exhibition, the photographic material from the book is drawn back into the space through, among other things, an installation with photographs in offset printing.
The installation is based on two window motifs. They show sections of buildings with parkland and the landscape outside, observed through partially frosted window surfaces that have once been scratched, with dirt and wounds. In the book, the same motifs are printed in offset on thin paper and this expression is continued in the exhibition.
The physical volume that the prints constitute is a visually important element in the installation. Both in terms of extent as large formats where the entire motif is visible, but also in the form of single prints that only show fragments. Light transmission and density where the different prints overlap each other, where the print and paper together constitute a mass, are factors that have played a role in the development of the project.
Valmueslekten / Poppy, released 2025
Marit Arnekleiv – photo
Eivind Hofstad Evjemo – prose pieces
Hans-Jørgen Wallin Weihe – essay
Marte Meling Enoksen – design
Published in collaboration with Harpefoss hotel art arena
Opening hours during the exhibition period:
Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 12:00-16:00, and by appointment.
The exhibition is supported by the Visual Artists' Aid Fund.
Marit Arnekleiv is a visual artist. In addition to working on her own art projects, she has initiated a number of projects with other artists and participated in several national and international art projects. Arnekleiv has had various assignments within art in public spaces.
The relation to a place is important in Arnekleiv's artistic practice, which ranges from interaction in nature, buildings and landscape to sculpture and photography.
In many of her projects, the work is directly linked to the specific location from which the work is based. In other cases, she brings the site-specific history into the artistic display space.
Marte Meling Enoksen is a graphic designer, and has experience with design, publishing and editorial work of publications in the fields of literature, culture and art.
From 2011 to 2023, she ran the design studio Eller med a together with Karen Grønneberg and Lotte Grønneberg. Eller med a has worked on both self-initiated projects and assignments, with a main focus on the book as a medium.