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BOB RECINE + BJARNE MELGAARD: Blood, Stones and Certain Beasts
A Collision of Two Artistic Universes
Blood, Stones and Certain Beasts brought together the distinctive artistic practices of Bob Recine and Bjarne Melgaard in a large-scale exhibition that transformed a 1700 m² warehouse at Oslo’s waterfront into an immersive and unsettling environment.
Through sculpture, photography, installation, sound, and light, the exhibition explored themes of identity, transformation, desire, and human fragility. The result was a visceral and layered experience where beauty, discomfort, humor, and darkness coexisted.
A Collaborative Process
At the core of the exhibition was a close creative dialogue between Recine and Melgaard. Many of the sculptures were developed collaboratively, with each artist alternately adding, modifying, and responding to the other’s interventions. This process blurred authorship and allowed their distinct visual languages to merge into something entirely new.
Grotesque forms, masses of hair, plastic elements, monumental photographs, and a suspended car wreck created a landscape that felt both dreamlike and confrontational, inviting visitors into a world where boundaries between reality and fiction dissolved.
Designing an Evolving Experience
To further emphasize the relationship between the artists’ practices, the architecture and design studio Snøhetta developed a custom system of interconnected plinths and display structures. These sculptural elements reflected the exhibition’s central theme of fusion and exchange, creating visual and physical connections between the works.
Rather than presenting individual pieces in isolation, the exhibition encouraged viewers to experience the artworks as part of a larger ecosystem of ideas, forms, and narratives.
Light as a Living Medium
Collective Oslo commissioned the experimental art and design studio VOID to create a site-specific light installation that challenged traditional exhibition formats.
Using programmed, unpredictable movements of light sources throughout the space, VOID transformed the exhibition into a constantly shifting environment. The monumental artworks appeared differently from moment to moment, creating new perspectives and altering the emotional atmosphere of the exhibition over time.
The installation added a dynamic layer to the experience, making light an active participant in the conversation between the works.
Sound and Atmosphere
To deepen the immersive qualities of the exhibition, musicians and composers Bendik Baksaas and Kristoffer Eikrem developed live-generated soundscapes that continuously evolved throughout the exhibition period.
The generative compositions responded to the space and atmosphere, creating a haunting sonic backdrop that amplified the emotional intensity of the artworks while encouraging visitors to move through the exhibition at their own pace.
FEATURED ARTISTS
Bob Recine
Bjarne Melgaard
COLLABORATORS
Snøhetta
VOID
Bendik Baksaas
Kristoffer Eikrem
LOCATION
Oslo Harbour Warehouse
Oslo, Norway
CATEGORY
Group Exhibition
Installation Art
Contemporary Art
DELIVERABLES
Exhibition Production
Curatorial Direction
Artist Collaboration
Spatial Design
Light Installation
Sound Design
THEMES
Collaboration
Transformation
Identity
Immersion
Experimental Exhibition Design
Contemporary Culture
Our Approach
Collective Oslo conceived and produced Blood, Stones and Certain Beasts as an interdisciplinary exhibition where visual art, architecture, light, and sound merged into a single experiential environment.
By bringing together artists and collaborators from different creative fields, the project explored how exhibitions can move beyond traditional presentation formats and become immersive encounters that challenge perception and invite reflection.