ON THE ROCK, BY THE SEA, ALONG THE SHORE
July 2015
PROPOSAL FOR A MARITIME MUSEUM, NORWAY.
THE YOUNG BUILDING ON THE SHORE - THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA.
THE OLD MAN:
“Tomorrow is going to be a good day with this current,”
THE YOUNG BUILDING:
I am constructed. I was thought of in the minds of people looking for knowledge; I was drawn by eager hands and modelled by ideas imagining a new existence. Lines drew me upon rock and earth. This is where I was brought to life, imagined and created from a vision of a life on the shore, between sea and land, between the open and the closed, between you and me. My roots are young, but they are built upon history. In the moment of birth my roots dug into the ground, the stories of the landscape and people cultivating it. It feels like I have always been here, I could not exist anywhere else. This is where I want to grow old. I want to hold your hand, let me take you on a journey. Feel the touch of my walls as I guide you into my womb, you are a child, explore and play. I feel honoured having you here.
THE OLD MAN:
“I can see the reflected glare of the lights of the city at what must be around ten o’clock at night. They are only perceptible at first as the light is in the sky before the moon rises. Then they are steady to see across the ocean whichis rough now with the increasing breeze.”
THE YOUNG BUILDING:
I know where the city is, I sailed the sea once and I saw it. I was not opposed nor impressed, I am just different. I am lucky to live at the end of a beautiful island. I have a scenic view over the fjord. I am born to share knowledge. Come inside and leave the city behind for now. I see the storms coming and going, the waves breaks against the rocks below, the air is clear and fresh.
THE OLD MAN:
"I watch the lines go straight down out of sight into the water, I am happy, I can see that there is fish here."
THE YOUNG BUILDING:
The fish play in the sea, the old man knows where. I am trying to learn. The wind stir my beams, I take a deep breath and hold them safe in place. The rain washes over my walls, soft drops are turned into crass whips by the wind.
THE OLD MAN:
“I think of how some men fear being out of sight of land in a small boar and I know that they were right in the months of sudden bad weather. They do not see it ashore because they do not know what to look for.”
THE YOUNG BUILDING:
You would not know what to look for if no one or nothing ever told you. I am ashore to help you see, to help you understand the ways of the sea. No one should walk blindly into the woods. I guide you trough history, both inside and outside. You can always lean on me. I will shelter you. Inside I am warm, I keep the weathers moody roar outside. The drumming rain and the howling wind become a muffled, deep, love song creating ever-evolving rhythms, giving you the beat of my heart.
THE OLD MAN:
“Light brisa, better weather for me than for you, fish.”
note.
THE OLD MAN: The Old Man and The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
Foto. AGV - Lofoten, Norway
Annee Grøtte Viken
