Invitation to the Defense of Magnhild Øen Nordahl

The PhD Programme in Artistic Research at the Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design kindly invites you to the defense of Magnhild Øen Nordahl’s project  “Unmaking Abstractions”.

The Examination Panel is made up of: Professor Trond Lossius (chair), Bernice Donzelmann (Chelsea College of Arts) and Natasha Kidd (Associate Vice-Provost, Bath Spa University).

Abstract
3D modeling is transforming how we shape the world – from art and design to industry and medicine. Behind the smooth surfaces of this technology lies a complex web of abstractions: systems, algorithms, and standards that influence both what we can create and how we perceive what we create. Magnhild Øen Nordahl explores how abstractions in 3D modeling technology shape work, environments, and sensory experiences. The artistic research aims to make these abstractions visible and tangible – through artworks you can touch, walk through, and experience with your body.

Nordahl is interested in how abstractions, especially within technology, affect the world around us, even though we rarely see them. Through art, she tries to give form to the invisible, so that we can sense and experience what usually only exists as systems and structures in the background.

The artworks in the project have been exhibited at venues including MUNCH, Kode, Lunds Konsthall, Entrée, Tag Team Studio, and Oseana. The works include aluminum sculptures, interactive installations, and pieces in augmented reality. They are based on investigations of, among other things, 3D models, production tools, software, and digital platforms. A central concept in the project is “unmaking” – a hands-on and sensory approach to understanding abstractions through physical form-making.

Short biography
Nordahl is a visual artist and co-founder of Aldea Center for Contemporary Art, Design, and Technology. She holds a BA from the Bergen Academy of Art and Design and an MA from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. Results from the research project have been exhibited at venues including MUNCH, Kode, Lunds Konsthall, Entrée, Oseana, and Tag Team. Nordahl’s doctoral research was conducted at the Art Academy, Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design, under the supervision of Eamon O’Kane, Anthea Buys, Synne Tollerud Bull, and Tominga O’Donnell.

The defense will be in English and will take place at the Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design in Møllendalsveien 61, 5000 Bergen, Norway.
Room: Auditorium Knut Knaus.

We are looking forward to welcoming you.

Date: Friday 23.5.2025
Time: 2 PM (CET)

The defense will be streamed 

https://uib.zoom.us/j/66121648846?pwd=MzYFM1CAaDoGy03o2byONJJKyvkPea.1

Image: Copyright Randi Grov Berger