Temporary exhibition
29 August-24 September 2023
The Historical Museum is pleased to present this exhibition of a small but varied collection of ceramic bulls crafted by todays artists, in collaboration with the embassy of Peru. With their unique expression, colours and patterns, the Pucará Bulls show a rich cultural tradition through intricate craftsmanship.
This is a touring exhibition traveling around European cities, now you can visit it here at the Historical Museum.
Collaboration with Norwegian artists
Artist Geir Tore Holm and representatives from the artist collective Aurora have each contributed to the exhibition with their own painted ceramic bull.
Artist Geir Tore Holm about his artistic contribution
Toritos de Pucará are ritual objects from a rich, complex folk tradition in the Andes, grown through centuries of European colonialism, trade and cultural friction. Considering the history, the people of Peru and the indigenous people in particular, it is with ambivalence that we relate to this symbolic animal figure.
This contribution is made in cooperation with my nephew Peder Josef Akpaliapik Pedersen. Our torito is heavy, black, closed, but made sensitive and equipped with a packaging in the hope of a more harmonic future.
The art collective "Aurora Verksted" about their artistic contribution
The pink bull is decorated through a cooperation between the textile and graphic
workshops. The bull is primed with acrylic paint and decorated by hand with marker. The pattern is created jointly by four of our artists and reflects a unique sign language – which can be interpreted across borders and time.
The textile on the bull is woven from Norwegian wool and the pattern is inspired by Telemark weavings, woven by hand on a traditional loom with 6 shafts.
This textile is a remnant of another collaborative project Aurora did with our Crown Princess Mette Marit and designer Petter Dundas. Aurora Verksted wove the fabric for the dress worn by the Crown Princess during the opening of the new National Museum.
The elegant design on the turquoise bull is done by the ceramic workshop at Aurora. The bull is also primed with acrylic paint and decorated with mosaic pieces of porcelain. The mosaic pieces are remnants of porcelain bowls that have broken during production. Each piece shows traces of décor from the bowl or is painted and by hand. The pieces are burned in the ceramic kiln and sanded to become soft and round at the edges. Each piece gets its own character, is different and unique.
The symbolism of the decoration of the bulls from Aurora is precisely that we are all unique, have our own distinctive character and inviolable human dignity, but we have different conditions for participation in the world.
"Nobody knows everything everyone knows something, together we can do most things" is Aurora Verksteds' work philosophy.
