Welcome to an unusual sledge workshop. British artist Sayed Sattar Hasan has taken the artist name Hasansen (after polar explorer Nansen) and comes to the museum in May 2020 to make a very special sledge. Hasan fuses traditional Norwegian and Pakistani craftsmanship into a hybrid sledge - the charpai sledge. The sledge's seat is made like a traditional charpai from Pakistan - a bed with a woven net that is common in large parts of Asia. The charpai will then be mounted on handmade skis, made by Norwegian ski maker Thomas Aslaksby.
Hasansen's sledge does not explore desolate geographical areas like Nansen did with his sledges, but cultural borderlands. People with multiple cultural backgrounds often describe how they are under pressure from different cultures, where they have to describe their identity in a certain way to meet people's expectations. Perhaps Hasansen's sledge, which also is a mixture of two cultures, can help to explore new ways of describing identity? Hasan has made and exhibited several sledges in different contexts, and he also had a workshop at NNKM in August 2020.
Hasan will be making the sledge at the museum and welcomes the public to see him work from Friday, May 21st to Friday, May 28th. He would love to discuss this and other artistic projects he's working on, or teach you how to make a charpai. The sledge has been purchased by Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum with funds from the COVID-19 stimulus package from the Ministry of Culture. The sledge will be shown until June 8th.
Sayed Sattar Hasan is from London and describes himself as «half Pakistani, a quarter English, Irish by proxy and helt norsk». He is a graduate of Goldsmith's University and lives and works in Oslo. He has a process-based art practice and works with installations, video, photography and crafts. His art explores the framework of national identity, heritage and belonging, often with strong autobiographical features and dry British humour.
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