Paper short abstract:

The project explores the mountain landscape of Hallingskarvet mountain range in Norway and indicates people´s presence within it. The processes of mapping, recordings and production of multi-media artworks aim to evoke non-verbal and sensory accounts of human - nature connections. It also reflects on the limits of mediation and the role of sound.

Paper long abstract:

The project enquires into the conditions of humans as biological beings at the margins of human settlement. It is an audio-visual portrayal of the mountain landscape of Hallingskarvet mountain range in Norway that includes subtle indications of people´s presence.

The project counters modes of prior classification on humans in/and nature by rejecting stereotypes that frame mountain landscapes as "wasteland" or "sublime" and the hegemonic ideals of conquest and mastery.

Bodily practices and sensory engagement are ways for people to deepen awareness of their connection with the nature they are embedded in. The aim is to evoke these sensory textured experiences of connectedness by emphasising affect, the non-verbal and non-cognitive.

The landscape and "weather-world" is continually changing through daily cycles, seasons and weather conditions. People interact with the landscape in ways that engage their body and senses, like walking, climbing, skiing and resting, and their experiences may range between joy, comfort, threat and pain.

The project engages in processes of mapping, recording and production of multi-media artworks. The visuals are recorded with long shots of still frame, which set the soundscape to the foreground of attention.

It is also a reflection on the possibility to mediate physical reality, body practices and sensory experiences through a representational virtual medium like a two-dimensional screen. The suggestion is that sound may have a stronger impact than the visual.

Main theoretical inspirations are Massumi, Ingold, Næss and Schafer.