Exhibitions » Exhibition Archive » 2011 » Art in The Auditorium » Marthe Thorshaug
Marthe Thorshaug
11 April - 8 May 2011 in the Adam Gallery
Norwegian artist Marthe Thorshaug’s The Legend of Ygg is a chilling modern legend about death riders in Norway. The film tells the story of a group of girl riders, influenced by old Norse legends, who spur each other on to extreme feats of daring. The girls use roads to test their own and their horse’s courage, seeking fearlessness. They go riding in the dead of the night dressed in black, enacting ritual standoffs with cars, and causing inexplicable car accidents across the Norwegian countryside.
The construction, survival, and rebirth and of legend is a recurring theme in Thorshaug’s work. She blends documentary, fiction and mythological elements. In The Legend of Ygg Thorshaug adapts the conventions of the road movie, shifting her focus to the Icelandic horse. The opening sequence of the film is a journey into a Norwegian landscape, presented in high romantic style, dotted with ancient burial mounds. We are introduced to the Icelandic horse, the Viking horse that the Norwegians took with them to Iceland in the 9th century.
The Norse word ‘ygg’ can be translated as ‘cruel’. Ygg was one of the Norse god Odin’s many names. As both the god of war and the source of wisdom, Odin was the chief god of Norse mythology. Odin’s pursuit of knowledge involved personal sacrifice, and he frequently appeared in disguise. He travelled on his eight legged horse, Sleipnir, who could gallop through the air and over the sea.
In The Legend of Ygg the closed sisterhood seeks invincibility. They must continually demonstrate their courage to the other members and provoke each other to push moral boundaries, ultimately resulting in death. Thorshaug’s modern legend is also a moral fable, identifying the search for belonging that ends in extremism. The film’s soundtrack, Skiss till en gravplats (Sketch for a Graveyard), references the Icelandic cult song Á Sprengisandi, which is about being careful when riding into the Icelandic moors at night, since you never know what dangers lurk in the darkness.
Chosen by Henie Onstad Art Centre, Caroline M. Ugelstad, Chief Curator
Marthe Thorshaug
The Legend of Ygg 2009
Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden, Norway
HDV loop
Duration 17:00 minutes
Film credits
Performers: Silje Gloppen, Kari Reigstad, Janka Stensvold, Maren Wedøe, Hanne Fjerdingstad, Tale Berntsen
Script, director, photo, editor: Marthe Thorshaug
Sound: Christian Falch
Music: Skiss till en gravplats composed and performed by Dan Persson
Financial support
Arts Council Norway, Norwegian Visual Artists Association, Punkt Ø AS