Blue Noses → Kirkenes & Nikel: Feel the Difference

January, 2008

The video “Kirkenes & Nikel: Feel the Difference” by Blue Noses voices stereotypes of “the Russian town” Kirkenes and captures possibilities of border-crossing labour market: Kirkenes is re-opening its mines and Nikel is expecting its Nickel Plant to close down.

The project “Kirkenes & Nikel: Feel the Difference” was a part of the outdoor exhibition “Times Square Kirkenes-Nikel” under the festival Barents Spektakel 2008.

Kirkenes and Nikel constitute the heart of the Pomor Zone and are considered to form a hot spot in the Barents Region. But this regional strategic role is in contrast to their small town atmosphere and obvious lack of urbanity. During the Barents Spektakel 2008 the Town Square of Kirkenes was turned into “Times Square” with outdoor screens showing video films made by the invited artists´ groups about the neighbouring towns Kirkenes and Nikel. “Times Square Kirkenes–Nikel” is an attempt to lift the status of these towns and turn them into Barents metropolises.

Artists:
Olga & Alexander Florensky (St Petersburg, Russia),
Blue Noses: Viacheslav Mizin, Alexander Shaburov, Yevgeny Ivanov (Moscow-Novosibirsk, Russia),
Los Torreznos: Rafael Lamata and Jaime Vallaure (Madrid, Spain),
Andreas Nilsson & Mikel Cee Karlsson (Malmo, Sweden).