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While observing an isolated event of an artificial, industry-facilitated disaster, Normalisation of A Disaster makes a reflective commentary on the psyche of people in the vicinity of the site of disaster, albeit not immediately affected by it. Exploring the ideas of nonchalance, sensitization and casual tourism towards sites of disaster in a region plagued by disasters, this reflection includes the self of the artist, and his family, and hordes of ‘tourists’ attracted towards the light of the morbid spectacle. The Baghjan Oil Blowout happened on 27th of May 2020, which caught fire through a massive explosion on 9th of June 2020 after leaking gas in the atmosphere for two weeks, continued to burn for 6 months, before being finally doused on 15th of November, 2020. This artificial disaster in an Oil-India Limited owned site has caused the displacement of more than 1600 families who were in the vicinity of the site of gas blowout, and were being sheltered in makeshift relief camps in nearby areas.

Devadeep Gupta B. 1989 Guwahati, Assam, India I frame my artistic process as an exploration of regional ecological uncertainties through a critical examination of associated mainstream perspectives. Inspired by site-specific and vernacular occurrences, I delve into the intricate relationship between people and their land. My artistic practice encompasses the realms of film and sculpture, bridging the gap between conceptual and documentary approaches. Within this intersection, I am particularly interested in narratives that emerge from the convergence of mythology and contemporary experiences. Grounded in the rich cultural landscape of Assam, I draw inspiration from pragmatic practices, oral traditions, and folklore. Central to my artistic endeavors are performative processes that pay homage to meta-cultural practices. Through visual and conceptual stimuli, I incorporate elements of local community-led actions to portray the environmental changes specific to each site. Everyday rituals that have organically evolved as meta-cultural actions inspire the forms and expressions within my artistic practice. The outtakes of my process, realized as rhythmic sculptural forms are expressed through mediums of film, image and sculpture to illustrate these outcomes. ?

I walked along the road with two friends ? the sun was setting ? I felt a wave of sadness ? suddenly the sky turned blood-red ? I stopped, leaned against the fence, deathly tired ? I saw the clouds flaming like blood and swords, over the deep blue fjord and the city ? My friends walked on ? I stood there trembling with angst and fear ? I felt a great endless scream echo through nature. From Edvard Munch?s diary, 22 January 1892, Nice Five dark figures enclosed in a bushy piece of greenery. A rusty car door, a bicycle wreck, some planks. They are serious and concentrated, like grieving or as if lost in an endless waiting for Godot, gathered around an object that could be the root of a tree, a sculpture or a gravestone. Around them high-rise buildings are shooting up, dark clouds are hanging over the cranes. A threating storm is rolling in over the city and the fjord. One of the figures is holding a scythe; his face is like a dark empty hole, the mask frighteningly dead. Nature has lost its voice. The photograph By Ekebergåsen is a dystopian manifestation of the marginalised position of art and artists in society. The artist, rejected and hunted, has gone into hiding. The shelter is a small patch of uncultivated ground squeezed in between capitalistic and populist political forces. From here they fought their guerrilla war, and lost. Between Bjørvika and Christian Ringnes?s future sculpture park, a small group of art students have gathered. An old bunker serves as their gallery. No one knows they are there.

Crispin Gurholt (f.1965 in Oslo) is a graduate of the National Art Academy in Oslo (1993-98) and New York University Film School (1996). He has had exhibitions in Venice, Rome, Turin, Madrid and Paris, the Henie Onstad Art Centre, Art Copenhagen, Stenersen Museum, Vigeland Museum, the North Norwegian Art Museum, Lillehammer Art Museum and Haugar Art Museum. Gurholt is participating in the 11th Havana Biennial. He has also been a set designer for several films and stage productions, and produced and directed numerous music videos, including videos for the Norwegian band Turbonegro.

The film Please Kill Me is a personal expression of my own account around the time we live in, pointing out one of our greatest challenges: The market and capital domination in the world. When economic growth is the strongest driving force, we experience increasing economic, social, cultural and, not least, enormous environmental challenges. It is no longer human, ideological or religious ideals that govern, but material growth. The feeling is this: We find ourselves not in a crisis resulting in radical restructuring, but are caught in a loop of repetition and denial, where genuine change appears impossible. In no way whatsoever does art stand outside this static situation. It stands in the midst of it and has no power to act as a genuine opposing force. The constant striving for ‘the new’ cannot expel the feeling that things are at a stand-still; the admonishment to establish micro-utopias in the increasingly sleek art institutions proves merely to repeat the imperative that each and every person should tend his or her own garden – or network; the mantra to summon ‘critical discourse’ does not hinder one’s thoughts from first and foremost revolving complacently around oneself. We know we are sitting in the same boat, and since we all know it is sinking, we try to sit as still as possible, so that at the very least it sinks slower. This is the artist`s confrontation with himself, the art scene and a world gone crazy spinning around itself, trapped in an eternal loop of repetition. In Please Kill Me the staged models have been assigned the same roles as they play in reality: In the gallery space you find the artist, curator, critic and gallerist frozen in a position where they are confronted with the allegation that art is dead.

Crispin Gurholt (b. 1965) is a Norwegian artist based in Oslo and Berlin. The density of his work reflects his versatility and the range of his studies, which in turn are essential to the creation of the highly composite universes of his Live Photos. Gurholt studied at the National Academy of Art in Oslo and The New York Film School SCE. He also has a background in scenography and directing. Since 2012 he has been teaching at The Art School of Rogaland in Norway. His Live Photos represent the sum of a wide-ranging expertise that, combined with social comment, presents a compelling picture of our time. Crispin Gurholt has an international reputation. His work and installations have been shown in Venice, Rome, Paris, Berlin, London, Copenhagen, Turin, Madrid, Cologne and Havana, as well as a number of major Norwegian art institutions. Gurholt is a receiver of the Norwegian Artist Grant since 2010.

In twilight we see a French limousine parked in front of a doorway next to a cash machine. In the back seat of the parked car is a middle-aged businessman. The private chauffeur is withdrawing money from the cash machine, and the driver`s car door is open. Next to the driver is a transvestite prostitute who is suggestive in his communication. Another transvestite prostitute leans against the limo`s rear window and is looking at the man in the back seat. In the dark doorway in the background we see the shadow of an elegant, masculine, Arab man, the pimp of the two prostitutes. Thematically the film points to the relationship between power, politics, money and sex, suggesting identity conflicts, double standards and hidden desires. The theme is archetypal, Machiavellian, and refers to a tacit acceptance of a system that helps to sustain an outdated patriarchy. As long as you don`t get caught everything is allowed! Recent sex scandals linked to European politicians, does not make the thematic less relevant. An intricate relationship between political and criminal groups is insinuated. The film is open and suggestive and apparently simple, but beneath the surface a complex communication pattern is unfolding.

Crispin Gurholt (f.1965) is a Norwegian artist based Berlin. He is a graduate of the National Art Academy in Oslo (1993-98) and New York University Film School (1996). He has exhibited in Havana, Venice, Rome, Turin, Madrid and Paris, the Henie Onstad Art Centre, Lillehammer Art Museum, Art Copenhagen, Stenersen Museum, Vigeland Museum, the North Norwegian Art Museum and Haugar Art Museum.

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Crispin Gurholt (f.1965 in Oslo) is a graduate of the National Art Academy in Oslo (1993-98) and New York University Film School (1996). He has had exhibitions in Venice, Rome, Turin, Madrid and Paris, the Henie Onstad Art Centre, Art Copenhagen, Stenersen Museum, Vigeland Museum, the North Norwegian Art Museum, Lillehammer Art Museum and Haugar Art Museum. Gurholt is participating in the 11th Havana Biennial. He has also been a set designer for several films and stage productions, and produced and directed numerous music videos, including videos for the Norwegian band Turbonegro.

There is an electric silence. We are witnessing a frozen moment in a staged drama with the suspense of a detective film. A real tableau presents living, breathing and thinking human beings located in the hills of Ekebergaasen in Oslo, Is this the future, the present and the past rolled into one single moment? We feel confused. What is happening. is the group of people lost or are they trespassing, Are they a part of the development we see in the background of the greenery, or are they forced out and away from the development? Are they passive or active?

Crispin Gurholt (b. 1965) is an artist working in the fields of photography, installation and video. He was educated at the Einar Granum Art School, Oslo Drawing and Painting School and was an apprentice to master painter Odd Nerdrum in 1992. He then attended National Academy of the Arts (1993-98), and the New York University Film School in 1996. Gurholt is best known for his vivid tableaus Live Photo, in which he problematized the relationship between reality and what`s beyond what we see. He makes use of the media`s language and exposes the often unpleasant situations, emotions and conditions. His works have been exhibited in Venice, Rome, Madrid, Paris, the Henie Onstad Art Centre, Art Copenhagen, Stenersen Museum, Vigeland Museum, the North Norwegian Art Museum and Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum. He has also produced a series of music videos, including for the rock band Turbonegro.

we see a family in a hospital with a nurse, the scene is frozen in a moment, maybe in real time, maybe from memory, there is noting telling what has happened or what is going to happen, they are all captured in the same moment, they are remote and at the same time together, multiple stories in a shared moment. are we! with our objective view seeing all the truth in the given scene and moment? or are there multiple stories to be told as we float through everyday life.

Crispin Gurholt, born 1965 in Oslo, Norway. Norwegian photo, installation and video artist. Education: Einar Granum Art School, Oslo Drawing and painting school. Was apprenticed to Odd Nerdrum (1992). Educated at the National Art Academy (1993-98) and New York University (Film School 1996). Gurholt is best known for his vivid tableaus "Live Photo", in which he problematized the relationship between reality and what`s beyond what we see. He makes use of the media`s language and exposes the often unpleasant situations, emotions and conditions. His works have been exhibited in Venice, Rome, Madrid, Paris, the Henie Onstad Art Centre, Art Copenhagen, Stenersen Museum, Vigeland Museum, the North Norwegian Art Museum and Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum. He has also produced a series of music videos, including for the rock band Turbonegro. http://www.snl.no/Crispin_Gurholt

"It`s like you`ve got yesterday, today and tomorrow in the same room. There is no telling what can happen" This line from the Award-winning film "I`m not there", about the life of Bob Dylan, conveys the same sense of a melding of time and place, and the uncertainty of what may happen, that defines Crispin Gurholt`s Live Photo... (Selene Wendt)

born 1965 in Oslo, Norway. Norwegian photo, installation and video artist. Education: Einar Granum Art School, Oslo Drawing and painting school. Was apprenticed to Odd Nerdrum (1992). Educated at the National Art Academy (1993-98) and New York University (Film School 1996). Gurholt is best known for his vivid tableaus "Live Photo", in which he problematized the relationship between reality and what`s beyond what we see. He makes use of the media`s language and exposes the often unpleasant situations, emotions and conditions. His works have been exhibited in Venice, Rome, Madrid, Paris, the Henie Onstad Art Centre, Art Copenhagen, Stenersen Museum, Vigeland Museum, the North Norwegian Art Museum and Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum. He has also produced a series of music videos, including for the rock band Turbonegro.

There is an electric silence. We are witnessing a frozen moment in a staged drama with the suspense of a detective film. A real tableau presents two living, breathing and thinking human beings located in the narrow confines of an emergency exit. The man has just shot the woman. Is this the future, the present and the past rolled into one single moment? We feel confused. What is happening? (From the introduction to Gurholt`s book "Live Photo II" Written by: Benedikte Sunde)

Crispin Gurholt, Born 1965 in Oslo, Norway Education from: The Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts, 1998 New York University, School of Continuing Education - Film School,1996

Lazy Nigel explores the small industrial town of Nigel in the East Rand of Johannesburg during weekends. The video starts with its landscapes of industrial complexes and factories, devoid of employees. As the film and my filming -which took place over a number of weekends- progress, a variety of local activities are revealed. Many of the town industry employees leave to return to their families, who often lived elsewhere. I wanted look at what remained. The film explores laziness as a construct. I am interested in unpacking the fact that work is traditionally seen as the major locus of our identity. Time off from our jobs allows us to engage in other activities that may not be seen as productive in a traditional sense. These activities can be social, political or creative, allowing us to think of our value in different ways and, as such, offer new ways to think about our identity.

Simon Gush (b.1981, Pietermaritzburg), living in Johannesburg. He was a 2011 Fellow at the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts, University of Cape Town, and completed postgraduate studies at the Hoger Instituut van Schone Kunsten in Ghent, Belgium, in 2008. Solo shows include After Work at Galerie Jette Rudolph, Berlin and 9 o`clock, at the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown (both 2015), Red at the Goethe-Institut, Johannesburg (2014); 1st and 3rd at Galerie West, The Hague, and 4 for Four at SMAK, Ghent (both 2010), in addition to six previous exhibitions at Stevenson, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Group shows include Artists Engaged? Maybe at Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon (2014); the 2nd Montevideo Biennial, Uruguay (2014); My Joburg at La Maison Rouge, Paris, and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden (2013); Halakasha at the Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg (2010); 1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town (2010) and the 2009 Luleå Summer Biennial, Sweden. In 2015 the academic workshop Red Assembly, with African Critical Inquiry Programme was held in East London around his exhibition Red. Gush was awarded the Jury prize at the Bamako Encounters Biennale (2015).

The title of the film, Iseeyou, comes from the slogan of the first multi-racial trade union in South Africa. It is a meditation of the relationship of visibility to work. Exploring public monuments to work and workers in Johannesburg, it looks at how these have been celebrated in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa through public art. The film suggests that this celebration is a way in which the conditions of work, and often the abuse of the rights of workers, is justified through the promotion of a work ethic.

Simon Gush was born in 1981 in Pietermaritzburg, and is currently based in Johannesburg. He was a laureate at the HISK (Higher Institute for Fine Arts) in Ghent, Belgium, in 2007/8 and a Gordon Institute of Performing and Creative Arts Fellow at the University of Cape Town in 2011. Solo exhibitions have taken place at the SMAK (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst) in Ghent (2010); and West, Den Haag, the Netherlands (2010); in addition to Stevenson Cape Town (2009, 2010 and 2013) and Johannesburg (2009 and 2011). Notable group exhibitions include My Joburg at La Maison Rouge, Paris,and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (2013); Present Unlimited, Sofia Contemporary, Fabrica 126, Sofia, Bulgaria (2012); Mind the System, Find the Gap, Z33, Hasselt, Belgium (2012); Connections, Kunsthalle Luzern, Luzern, Switzerland(2011); the 2009 Luleå Summer Biennial, Sweden; and .za: Young Art from South Africa at Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena (2008). Alongside his artistic practice, Gush has collaborated in founding and facilitating a number of alternative temporary exhibition platforms, most notably the Parking Gallery, Johannesburg.

Distance, presents the absence of belief, where labour is estranged and invisibly services ?lifestyle?. Helen stays at a hotel for a conference, and has invited her sister and her nephew (Grant) to join for the weekend. After Helen leaves for the day?s session, Grant grows bored and listless after playing while his mother sleeps and wanders off into the hotel. He amuses himself for a number of hours playing in the corridors and spaces of the hotel, while occasionally voyeuristically watching the staff at work. He returns to the room to find Helen also at the door, her conference finished for the day. They sit in the room and Helen waits for Grant?s mother to return who is not there when they enter. The mother does return briefly, but only to change into something more suitable for dinner, and leaves again, to the silent frustration of Helen. Helen then also abandons Grant to his own devices while she goes off to her evening function.

Simon Gush (b.1981, ZA) is a South African artist currently based Johannesburg. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2003. Gush was a laureate at the HISK (Higher Institute for Fine Arts) in Ghent, Belgium, in 2007/8 and a Gordon Institute of Performing and Creative Arts Fellow at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, in 2011. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions internationally and locally and has held solo shows at the SMAK (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst) in Ghent (2010), West, Den Haag, the Netherlands (2010), and the Stevenson Gallery in Cape Town (2009 & 2010) and Johannesburg (2009 & 2011). Gush has been included in two international publications surveying young contemporary artists: the Younger Than Jesus Directory published by the new Museum in New York, USA (2009); and 100 New Artists by Francesca Gavin, published by Laurence King Publishing (2011). Alongside his artistic practice, Gush has collaborated in founding and facilitating a number of alternative temporary exhibition platforms, most notably the Parking Gallery in 2006, which was relaunched in 2012.

Lazy Nigel explores the small industrial town of Nigel in the East Rand of Johannesburg during weekends. The video starts with its landscapes of industrial complexes and factories, devoid of employees. As the film and my filming -which took place over a number of weekends- progress, a variety of local activities are revealed. Many of the town industry employees leave to return to their families, who often lived elsewhere. I wanted look at what remained. The film explores laziness as a construct. I am interested in unpacking the fact that work is traditionally seen as the major locus of our identity. Time off from our jobs allows us to engage in other activities that may not be seen as productive in a traditional sense. These activities can be social, political or creative, allowing us to think of our value in different ways and, as such, offer new ways to think about our identity.

Simon Gush (b.1981, Pietermaritzburg), living in Johannesburg. He was a 2011 Fellow at the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts, University of Cape Town, and completed postgraduate studies at the Hoger Instituut van Schone Kunsten in Ghent, Belgium, in 2008. Solo shows include After Work at Galerie Jette Rudolph, Berlin and 9 o`clock, at the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown (both 2015), Red at the Goethe-Institut, Johannesburg (2014); 1st and 3rd at Galerie West, The Hague, and 4 for Four at SMAK, Ghent (both 2010), in addition to six previous exhibitions at Stevenson, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Group shows include Artists Engaged? Maybe at Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon (2014); the 2nd Montevideo Biennial, Uruguay (2014); My Joburg at La Maison Rouge, Paris, and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden (2013); Halakasha at the Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg (2010); 1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town (2010) and the 2009 Luleå Summer Biennial, Sweden. In 2015 the academic workshop Red Assembly, with African Critical Inquiry Programme was held in East London around his exhibition Red. Gush was awarded the Jury prize at the Bamako Encounters Biennale (2015).

The title of the film, Iseeyou, comes from the slogan of the first multi-racial trade union in South Africa. It is a meditation of the relationship of visibility to work. Exploring public monuments to work and workers in Johannesburg, it looks at how these have been celebrated in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa through public art. The film suggests that this celebration is a way in which the conditions of work, and often the abuse of the rights of workers, is justified through the promotion of a work ethic.

Simon Gush was born in 1981 in Pietermaritzburg, and is currently based in Johannesburg. He was a laureate at the HISK (Higher Institute for Fine Arts) in Ghent, Belgium, in 2007/8 and a Gordon Institute of Performing and Creative Arts Fellow at the University of Cape Town in 2011. Solo exhibitions have taken place at the SMAK (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst) in Ghent (2010); and West, Den Haag, the Netherlands (2010); in addition to Stevenson Cape Town (2009, 2010 and 2013) and Johannesburg (2009 and 2011). Notable group exhibitions include My Joburg at La Maison Rouge, Paris,and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (2013); Present Unlimited, Sofia Contemporary, Fabrica 126, Sofia, Bulgaria (2012); Mind the System, Find the Gap, Z33, Hasselt, Belgium (2012); Connections, Kunsthalle Luzern, Luzern, Switzerland(2011); the 2009 Luleå Summer Biennial, Sweden; and .za: Young Art from South Africa at Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena (2008). Alongside his artistic practice, Gush has collaborated in founding and facilitating a number of alternative temporary exhibition platforms, most notably the Parking Gallery, Johannesburg.

Distance, presents the absence of belief, where labour is estranged and invisibly services ?lifestyle?. Helen stays at a hotel for a conference, and has invited her sister and her nephew (Grant) to join for the weekend. After Helen leaves for the day?s session, Grant grows bored and listless after playing while his mother sleeps and wanders off into the hotel. He amuses himself for a number of hours playing in the corridors and spaces of the hotel, while occasionally voyeuristically watching the staff at work. He returns to the room to find Helen also at the door, her conference finished for the day. They sit in the room and Helen waits for Grant?s mother to return who is not there when they enter. The mother does return briefly, but only to change into something more suitable for dinner, and leaves again, to the silent frustration of Helen. Helen then also abandons Grant to his own devices while she goes off to her evening function.

Simon Gush (b.1981, ZA) is a South African artist currently based Johannesburg. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2003. Gush was a laureate at the HISK (Higher Institute for Fine Arts) in Ghent, Belgium, in 2007/8 and a Gordon Institute of Performing and Creative Arts Fellow at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, in 2011. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions internationally and locally and has held solo shows at the SMAK (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst) in Ghent (2010), West, Den Haag, the Netherlands (2010), and the Stevenson Gallery in Cape Town (2009 & 2010) and Johannesburg (2009 & 2011). Gush has been included in two international publications surveying young contemporary artists: the Younger Than Jesus Directory published by the new Museum in New York, USA (2009); and 100 New Artists by Francesca Gavin, published by Laurence King Publishing (2011). Alongside his artistic practice, Gush has collaborated in founding and facilitating a number of alternative temporary exhibition platforms, most notably the Parking Gallery in 2006, which was relaunched in 2012.