Offshore ID
MARIE VON KROGH
DEMARK & NORWAY
Stavanger artist, Marie von Krogh was invited by SAMSKAB to ÆRØ for her NATUR residency exploring the life and culture of the offshore oil workers in Denmark and looking at the ties between those in Norway and the stories that link them across the North Atlantic. In her work Marie has been engaged in exploring challenges connected to coastal industries, especially focusing on the reality for the people working offshore, and how this has created changes in social and family structures during the so called “oil era”. Through her work she wants to explore how those structures are tied together across the North Sea, with the ocean as a working site.
RESIDENCY
She found it natural to connect and compare stories from the various Danish coast communities with the stereotyped fishing - and later offshore commuting societies along the Norwegian South/West-areas. She discovered numerous stories from these places, especially from those who are keeping the forts at home. Earlier, those were the women, today it could likely be the men and fathers with young children. Marie explored how these local communities are kept alive by the workers who leave - and then return again. The project was delivered in cooperation with Æro Dog Days.
THE PROJECT
Following Marie’s two visits to the Island of Ærø, where she had got to know the locals through interviews and photo sessions, an exhibition of her work was launched, in collaboration with a local community and art festival Dog Days Festival. Produced by NATUR Partner SAMSKAB, it was greatly received by locals as well as visitors of the beautiful Island of Ærø over glorious days in July 2019.
SUPPORTED BY
Marie Von Krogh
Marie lives and works in Stavanger, Norway, at university she studied journalism and history of arts and culture. Formerly a journalist for a local newspaper, she left her job in 2009 to work as a freelance photojournalist. Her work has been featured in regional and national newspapers and magazines such as Verdens Gang, Stavanger Aftenblad, Dagens Næringsliv, Aftenposten/A-magasinet and Dagbladet. In addition to editorial work, she immerse herself into long term projects.
In 2011 the artist became one of the co-founders of Plot documentary magazine, and served as the publication’s picture editor until 2014. She was jury member of the 2013 Norwegian Picture of the Year, together with Thomas Borberg, picture editor of Politiken (dk) and Roger Turesson, former picture editor of Dagens Nyheter and Expressen (se). In 2014 she was part of the group project SeaChange, a photo documentary about young Europeans and how they cope with the pressing economic issues today. The project was curated by VII photographer Jocelyn Bain Hogg and the exhibition was touring European cities in 2015 and 2016. The project is also presented as a book, published by Press in 2015. Since then, she has been photographing offshore workers and their families along the coast of Norway.