Erik Pirolt

What does a giant moss-clad dog, a dog full of scribbles and a creature hanging from a ceiling have in common? They are all part of a new exhibition by artist Erik Pirolt, in Oslo central Station.

Outside Oslo Central Station, Airport Express Terminal, stands a 5 meter high dog howling against the moon. It's covered with moss, collected from Pirolt's local area in Kristiansand. The moss on the sculpture will slowly loose its green color as the climate changes throughout the year. The sculpture shows us the animal nature, the power and the wildness - the almost mythical aspect of dogs howling at the moon.

Inside the Airport Express Terminal is another dog with a much more cautious attitude, leaning its snout against the glass and staring out at the world and the howling dog outside. It's covered in drawings and scribbles, painstakingly executed, full of intricate details, symbolism and history. Layer upon layer of drawing creates a vibrating chaos.

Above the two dogs, from the ceiling inside the station, hangs a human-like creature in gymnastic rings, with headphones over its ears. He radiates calmness from listening to music, contrasted by his body full of holes.

With the station as a backdrop, the artist reflects on the meeting between nature and culture, sustainability and the future, in addition to more philosophical investigations of what it means to be human.

Photo: Jon Gorospe

Erik Pirolt (b. 1977) is an idea-based artist who works experimentally with different materials and techniques. Always based on a thought or an idea, Pirolt uses humor, existential themes, choice of materials and awareness of form and poetry. He has immersed himself in a wide range of materials, techniques and media, in many thematic directions. Pirolt is a trained artist at the Academy of Art in Trondheim and in Oslo. He has exhibited at a number of places, such as Bumuldsfabrikken in Arendal, TM51 in Oslo, and has made several public art projects. He has recently installed the work "The Power of Thought" (2020), a sculpture on the ceiling of Algarheim School, curated by Kulturbyrået Mesén.