Thora Dolven Balke (NO)

Thora Dolven Balke's solo exhibition at NOUA will be the artist's first solo presentation in Northern Norway. The exhibition presents new works with photographic glass collages combined with materials such as textiles, foils and found objects. Thematically, the exhibition is about groping for the boundaries of something that is far too big to grasp, and the feeling of vertigo this can trigger. The exhibition will feature for the first time the sound installation Wacky Fall, a 12-channel sound work created in collaboration with composer Henrik Skram. Together, the artworks will create an experience of scale that is beyond the audience's physical dimensions.

Thora Dolven Balke lives and works between Oslo, Lofoten and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her practice is based on photography and moving images, presented in sculptural installations alongside sound and objects in materials such as silicone, soap or epoxy. She is inspired by the humor and seriousness of the routines that wear out the structures we build around everyday life, the maintenance that is required. Part of this is the language we use to describe the indescribable, events related to time, one's own vulnerability and care, personally and as part of a society. Dolven Balke's practice is socially engaged, often curatorial and collaborative. Recent exhibitions include Modo Host, Entrée, Bergen (2025); Passing Motherhood, Hannah Ryggen Triennalen, Trondheim Kunsthall (2025); Human Scale, Melk, Oslo (2024); Modo Host, CAMA, São Paulo (2024); Moon in Your Mouth, UKS (2023) and False Spring, Lydgalleriet (2020).