“Book of Sand / Singular Hands” is a collaborative project between the artists Matt Bryans, Håvard Sagen, Ananda Serné and social anthropologist/sociologist Merete Jonvik. Together they explore the dormant mythologies of three specific locations in Rogaland: a historic mining landscape, a marketplace, and agricultural surroundings. These locations host the artist-run spaces Velferden Sokndal Scene for Samtidskunst, Studio17 (Nytorget, Stavanger) and Studio K (Kvernaland, Time). The three spaces are situated in culturally significant places currently undergoing transformation. The intention of “Book of Sand / Singular Hands” is to let echoes from these silenced places return and to inhabit the sonic/physical structures through an accumulating and multi-authored collaboration.
The work cycle is comparable to a collection of short stories, and each site as a chapter within a multi-authored narrative. The roots of the short story can be traced back to our beginnings as humans and the role played by storytelling and mythology. It can be rewarding to remember these beginnings in the oral tradition when navigating and understanding a place or a landscape. The details of the story would grow and change with the teller, and/or the telling.