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P. J. K. K.  – Per Jonas' Creative Kitchen

Unge kunsteneres samfunn (UKS), Oslo, 1996. A cooperative project with UKS, Jorun Hanstveit, and Sofie Persvik, in addition to a bunch of other artists as cooks.

In cooperation with the board of UKS, Per Jonas and his wife Sofie Persvik invited politicians,  museums and gallery owners, and artists to discuss the politics of art in Norway in 1996. The project was inspired by the Oslo agreement and the peace process between Israel and Palestine. The couple, who lived together with their two young children, Axel and Alma, at Grünerløkka, demounted their own kitchen and mounted it at the UKS gallery, fully functional. The purpose was to create a space for art-related political discourse in an informal setting. Different artists cooked and served three-course meals every evening.

 

The project was inspired by a previous exhibition at Buskerud kunstsenter, PJKK 1, in which six Norwegian and six German artists participated. The artists prepared their own solo shows which were merged together at the exhibition space.

On the occasion of UKS's 100 years anniversary exhibition at Kunstnernes Hus in 2021, the concept of Per Jonas' creative kitchen was revived: PJKK 3. This time, the kitchen was taken from Per Jonas' apartment at Oppsal. However, one object was present from the project in 1996: a framed photo of Persvik's grandmother on her 90th birthday. As part of the exhibition, I was bold enough to invite myself to do creative kitchens in ten private homes. In the comfort of the audience's kitchens and living rooms, I produce an artwork as well as discuss art and culture. In addition, all of the hosts also participate in creating a recipe book. 

In parallel, I am producing three books. One is exhibited at the kitchen table in the exhibition and tells the story of the different creative kitchens projects. The second book is the recipe book based on the host's cooking and the third is an artist book "documenting" the creative kitchens in the audience's homes.

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