Susanna Hofer & Aurora Haaland Stenersen

In the duo exhibition What the Mountains Hold, Susanna Hofer (AT) and Aurora Stenersen (NO) present photographic works shaped by their respective encounters with the cultural and natural landscape of Nagano, Japan. The artists engage with themes of perception, presence, and silent transformation, and their works illuminate the nuanced interplay between visibility and concealment, tradition and reinvention – inviting us to look closely and feel quietly.

In her photographic practice, Susanna Hofer constructs self-made objects from everyday materials, transforming the ordinary into curious forms that carry a disarming charm. Although often playful in appearance, her works are layered with thoughtful allusions to art history and photography – invoking movements such as surrealism, the decisive moment, and straight photography.

Hofer spent time in Nagano, Japan to produce the work displayed at NOUA, where she gently challenges the original purpose of photographed materials and the assumptions we attach to them, finding new resonance in an unfamiliar cultural context. Guided by Ms. Kamisawa, director of a contemporary art gallery in Chikuma City, Hofer was introduced to local artists and traditional practices, including the sacred art of making shimenawa ropes. The work reflects a sensitive dialogue between Hofer's sculptural constructions and the Japanese perception of nature, seen in bonsai, ikebana, and the rituals of daily life. Her photographs juxtapose these refined cultural expressions with Nagano's natural landscape – its steep mountains and vast forests.

Aurora Stenersen's work is shaped by a clear sense of purpose and a deep commitment to her ongoing exploration of queer identity in rural areas, a subject she has pursued with calm intensity throughout her practice. During a trip to Nagano, Japan, Stenersen connected with LGBTQ+ individuals – a process that proved particularly challenging – highlighting not only the conservative region but often also the discomfort that continues to surround queer visibility. Within this delicate context, Stenersen approached the community with sincerity and care, gradually building trust and meaningful connections.

Stenersen's works are characterized by their treatment of light – not a glaring, revealing light, but a soft, diffuse presence. It gently drapes over people, landscapes, forests, and mountains – sometimes revealing, sometimes concealing. Stenersen's photographs do not assert queerness as a statement to be defended, but rather as an enduring presence, existing quietly and resiliently in everyday life.
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Susanna Hofer 1985* studied literature and applied photography at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Her photographic practice operates at the intersection of still life and tableaux vivants, sculpture, and commercial photography. Unlike classical still life, Hofer interweaves a socio-documentary interest, hints to cross cultural references and literary object symbolism into her meticulously composed images. A significant part of her photographic practice is constituted by constructed representation, which, as a technique of alienation, examines the functionality of objectivity. Hofer lives and works in Vienna and Styria.

Born in 1997 in Henningsvær, Norway, Aurora Stenersen is currently based in The Hague, Netherlands where she is studying for a BA in photography at The Royal Academy of Arts. She graduated from the Bilder Nordic School of Photography in Oslo in 2021. Stenersen's work delves into themes of identity, sexuality, and belonging, often using personal stories to highlight broader societal issues.

The exhibition is supported by EU-Japan Fest and Bodø2024.