Picture Stones, Bergen Norway, April - June, 2024

During my 3 month placement at USF Verftet, I spent my days wandering around Bergen observing the landscape; documenting the flora, fauna and human-made things. I also collected stones from the environment, each approximately 15 inches in either direction; their surfaces ideal for drawing, their scale capable to carry on my own.  

These Picture Stones are a culmination of the things that made impressions on me – my cellphone (as always) is central to my practice; it’s how I document, remember, and communicate ideas. Each drawing took approximately 3 days to complete and the featured cellphone image is the highlight of those days.

Humans have drawn on stone for thousands of years, these Picture Stones are looking back at past modes of communication and also forward at how we send messages and communicate today.

I placed the Picture Stones back into the environment, where I found them, encoding the Norwegian landscape.  I anticipate them being ‘happened upon’ by local passersby and perhaps mystifying or amusing the Norwegian community, offering a moment for contemplation and reflection. 

To the Bergen community, thank you for having me. If you happen upon my Picture Stones, let them live outside for others to experience as well. 

The cellphones are 1:1scale, there are 16 in total, the ink is waterproof and vegan.