Information
Katie Paterson
( Artist )
Vatnajökull (the sound of), 2007-8
A live phone-line to a distant glacier.
Earth–Moon–Earth (Moonlight Sonata Reflected from the Surface of the Moon),
2007
Beethoven's
Moonlight Sonata, reflected from the moon's surface.
Streetlight Storm, 2009
Pier lights flickering in time with lightning
storms.
Timepieces (Solar System), 2014
A series of clocks that tell the time on
other
planets.
All the Dead Stars, 2009
A map of every dead star in the universe.
Totality, 2016
A mirror ball reflecting every solar eclipse.
Campo del Cielo, Field of the Sky, 2012-14
A meteorite, recast, and
returned to
space.
Ara, 2016
Festoon lights matching the brightness of a constellation of
stars.
Langjökull, Snæfellsjökull, Solheimajökull, 2007
Records of glacial ice
played
until they melt.
100 Billion Suns, 2011
Confetti colour matched to the brightest cosmic
explosions.
Inside this desert lies the tiniest grain of sand, 2010
A grain of sand
carved to
only a few atoms.
The Dying Star Letters, 2011
A series of letters announcing stellar
deaths.
Candle (from Earth into a Black Hole), 2015
A candle scented as if
journeying
from planet to planet.
Fossil Necklace, 2013
A necklace of carved, rounded fossils, spanning
geological
time.
Hollow, 2016, with Zeller &
Moye
A microcosmos of every tree on earth
Light bulb to Simulate Moonlight, 2008
A light bulb recreating the glow of
a full
moon.
History of Darkness, 2011
An archive of darkness from throughout the
universe.
Second Moon, 2013-14
A fragment of the moon posted around the earth.
As the World Turns, 2010
A record player turning in time with the earth’s
rotation.
The artist behind
Future Library, Katie Paterson (b. 1981, Scotland) is widely
regarded as one of the leading artists of her
generation. Collaborating with scientists and researchers across the world, Paterson’s
projects consider our place on
earth in the context of geological time and change. Her artworks make use of sophisticated
technologies and specialist expertise to stage intimate, poetic and philosophical
engagements between people and their natural environment.
Combining a Romantic sensibility with a research-based approach, conceptual rigour and
coolly
minimalist presentation, her work collapses the distance between the viewer and the most
distant edges of time and the cosmos.
Katie Paterson has broadcast the sounds of a melting glacier live, mapped all the dead
stars, compiled a slide archive of darkness from the depths of the Universe, created a light
bulb to simulate the experience of moonlight, and sent a
recast meteorite back into space. Eliciting feelings of humility, wonder and melancholy akin
to the experience of the Romantic sublime, Paterson's work is at once understated in gesture
and yet monumental in scope.
Katie has exhibited internationally, from London to New York, Berlin to Seoul, and her works
have been included in major exhibitions including Hayward Gallery, Tate Britain, Kunsthalle
Wien, MCA Sydney, Guggenheim Museum, New York, and
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh. She was winner of the Visual Arts
category of the 2014 South Bank Awards.
Ingeri Engelstad
Publishing Director at Oktober Press
Håkon Harket
Publishing Director of Forlaget Press
Anne Beate Hovind
Project Director Bjørvika Utvikling and Chair of the Trust
Liv Sæteren
Former Director of the Deichmanske Bibliotek
Simon Prosser
Publishing Director of Hamish Hamilton
The paramount objective of the Future Library Trust is to select and invite the authors, and
to compassionately sustain the
artwork for its one hundred year duration.
The Future Library trustees include artist
Katie Paterson, Publishing Director of Hamish Hamilton Simon Prosser, Former Director of the
Deichmanske Bibliotek Liv Sæteren, Publishing
Director of Forlaget Press Håkon Harket, Editor-in-Chief of Oktober Press Ingeri Engelstad
and Anne Beate Hovind, Project Director at Bjørvika Utvikling, and Chair of the Trust.
The authors are being selected for their outstanding contributions to literature and poetry
and for their works’ ability to capture the imagination of this and future generations. Key
words in the selection process are “imagination” and
“time”. The Trust is inviting one hundred outstanding writers of any nationality or age to
contribute works in any genre or language. The length of the piece is entirely for the
author to decide.
Nordmarka is a forested area to the North of Oslo. Norwegian spruce (Picea abies), birch
(Betula pubescens) and pine (Pinus sylvestris) flourish in this area, which is protected by
the city against the threat of urban sprawl. With the
guidance of foresters from the Agency of Urban Environment who have been tending this land
for over one hundred years, Katie Paterson planted one thousand Norwegian spruce trees in
May 2014. A
number of existing spruce, birch and fir remain in the
forest, to allow it to regenerate from its own seedbank. Visitors are able to visit the
Future Library forest, which is located a 30 minute hike from Frognerseteren Station.
Katie Paterson has created a limited edition artwork, a certificate entitling the owner
to one complete set of the one hundred texts printed on the paper made from the
Future
Library
trees
after they are fully grown and cut down in 2114. The
proceeds support the running of the project over its one hundred year duration. For more
information
please contact the artist's galleries:
USA
James Cohan Gallery, New York —
Contact
Donations
If you would like to make a donation to Future Library please contact —
Anne Beate Hovind
Support for this one hundred year long artwork has been given by the City of Oslo, which
are working with the artist and Future Library Trust to ensure the protection of the
forest and manuscripts until the year 2114. Conceived by Katie Paterson, Future
Library
is commissioned and produced by Bjørvika Utvikling and managed by the Future Library
Trust. Supported by the City of Oslo, Agency for Cultural Affairs and Agency for Urban
Environment. Hosted by the Deichmanske Bibliotek, Oslo. Library room design with
architects Atelier Oslo and Lund Hagem.
We extend our deepest gratitude to the authors Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, and
Sjón. To Anne Beate Hovind, Project Director, Bjørvika Utvikling. To the Future Library
Trust: Ingeri Engelstad, Håkon Harket, Simon Prosser, and Liv Sæteren. To the foresters
Jon Karl Christiansen, Eivind Johan Birkeland, Trond Enkerud, Vidar Veli-Matti Gjølmo,
Jon Hagen, Knut Johansson, and Frank Thomassen. To the architects Nils Ole Brandtzæg and
the team at Atelier Oslo; Svein Lund and the team at Lund Hagem. To the essayists Arve
Rød, and Lisa Le Feuvre. To graphic designers Fraser Muggeridge Studio. To the whole
Future Library team, assisted by Siobhàn Maguire, Vibeke Hermanrud, Claire McAree, Jarl
Solberg, Martin John Callanan, and Isabel Paterson. To filmmaker Giorgia Polizzi. To all
those at the Deichmanske Bibliotek. To photographer Kristin Von Hirsch. To Lillehammer
Literature Festival. To Oslo Business Region. To Adam Asnan for his sound composition.
Photo credits. Margaret Atwood: photo © Bjørvika Utvikling by Kristin von Hirsch, 2015.
David Mitchell: photo © Brendan McNeill, 2015. Sjón: photo © Thomas A, 2016. Information
page. Artist: photo © Oliver Mark, 2014; photo © Katie Paterson, 2008; photo © Andy
Keate, 2008; photo © MJC, 2009; photo © John McKenzie, 2014; photo © MJC, 2010; photo ©
Ben Blackall, 2016; photo © Giorgia Polizzi, 2012; photo © Ben Blackall, 2016; photo ©
Katie Paterson, 2007; photo © MJC, 2011; photo © MJC, 2011; photo © MJC, 2011; photo ©
Blaise Adilon, 2015; photo © John McKenzie, 2014; photo © Max McClure, 2016; photo ©
Ingleby Gallery, 2011; photo © Peter Mallet, 2012; photo © MJC, 2013; photo © MJC, 2011.
Trust: photos © Bjørvika Utvikling by Kristin von Hirsch, 2014. Certificate: photos ©
Blaise Adilon, 2015. The Artwork page: photo © Vibeke Hermanrud, 2014; photo © Bjørvika
Utvikling by Kristin von Hirsch; photo © MJC, 2014; photo © Skoyts AS www.skoyts.com;
photo © Bjørvika Utvikling by Kristin von Hirsch, 2014; photo © Bjørvika Utvikling by
Kristin von Hirsch, 2014; photo © Giorgia Polizzi, 2014; all photos © Bjørvika Utvikling
by Kristin von Hirsch, 2016. Silent room photos: © Atelier Oslo / Lund Hagem, 2016;
Handover: all photos © Bjørvika Utvikling by Kristin von Hirsch, 2014-15. All films by
Giorgia Polizzi, 2013-2016. Website sound by Adam Asnan.
Anne Beate Hovind
Project Director / Bjørvika Utvikling
and Chair of the Future Library Trust