Is it possible to get to know the people of a place through the objects they are selling online?
Småprat
norsk
When I moved to Jeløya in the summer of 2020, it seemed like an impossible task to get to know anyone in my new neighbourhood: an eclectic mix of sprawling single-family villas, shared dwellings, townhouses, and apartment blocks. I had a newborn and the pandemic was in full effect. So naturally, I set up on an alert on Finn. Soon I was following everything that was sold or given away within a 1000m radius of my new home. I have now met my neighbours in parks, backyards, living rooms, and studios. An interconnected web of non-traditional commerce, made possible through an app that is now vocally betting against personal connections and “småprat” (small talk).
This piece was commissioned for the exhibition Betraktninger = Observations, Dialogues and Actions, a multifaceted collaboration between Oslo Architecture Triennale, Master in art and public space (MAPS) at Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO) and ROM for kunst og arkitektur in 2022.