Taking artistic research as the point of departure, this book approach the ancient writing system ‘runes’ as a framework for broader reflections on humankind – a meaning-creating species in a state of constant technological development. The publication presents new perspectives on the use of runes, tracing lines between the history of the Norse language, philology, and the reading of artworks, with reference to rune archives in today’s Germany and Norway. 

Editing the book, I applied a broad contextual framework and explored the way links arise between the past, present and future as a result of the three-way relationship between technology, meaning-making, and materiality. Core is the artistic processes, which feed on, enrich, and add new symbols, words, and images to the flow of meaning between people and their co-creators.

Texts by Dr.Phil. Karoline Kjesrud (Medieval Historian), Dr. Phil. Alessia Bauer (Professor in Scandinavian Studies at École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris), Simone Neuenschwander (curator and art historian).

Published by: Publishing House of O | Oslo National Academy of the Arts, 2023
Design by: Sandra Kastl
Print: Druckhaus Köthen
Pages: 62 + folded cover
Format: 200X2600 mm
200 ex., signed