WASTE / DEPOSIT is Velferden's interdisciplinary and dialogue-based programme , which started in 2023 and will end in 2026 with a seminar, exhibition and publication.

The seminar will take place on June 5th at Jøssingfjord Science Museum, and the exhibition opens on Velferden June 6th.

The digital publication consists of selected contributions from artists, researchers, mining representatives and local experts.

  • Waste is the worthless leftovers after valuable minerals have been separated from the rock in the mountain. This material—also referred to as tailings—is classified as waste and is stored in large deposits on land and in the sea. Tailing deposits or landfills are currently a necessary consequence of mining. In Sokndal, which is Norway's largest mining municipality, the landfills amounts to millions of tons of waste- an unresolved potential resting on the seabed and within the landscape. We live in a modern consumer society, and all the products we use contain minerals. Every form of mineral extraction produces large amounts of waste and pollution. If the disposal of tailings in nature is a problem, how can we begin to change the way we do things? 

    At Velferden, we take a closer look at these issues and ask: How can we better manage the enormous amounts of waste we as a society generate? Are there other ways of managing resources that protect nature and make us more responsible consumers? How do these rapid interventions affect our relationship with nature as it is?

Velferden would like to extend a warm thank you to everyone who has helped realize, inspired and shared their knowledge with this project.

Artists and researchers who participated in the inspections:
Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, Tove Kommedal, Brynjar Åbel Bandlien, Bjørn-Tore Blindheim, Siri Austeen, Pierre Lionel Matte, Linda Lamingnan, Merete Hermansen Jonvik, Carl-Oscar Sjögren, Lisa Torell, Marie Storli, Simon Daniel Tegnander Wenzel, Ingrid Halland, Ebba Moi, Anna Carin Hedberg, Adrian Bugge, Hanna Sjöstrand, Runa Norheim and Thomas Østbye.

Local experts who have contributed knowledge:
Rune Haaland
Erling Svensen
Jarl Birkeland
Paul Thjømøe
Paul Magnus Lundø
Kari Berge

Thanks to the artists who helped explore the materiality of sand at the Sand School:
Agnes Mohlin (Artist) (SV)
Naomi Fisher (Artist) (United States)
Stefan Schröder (Artist) (N)
Siri Austeen (Artist) (N)

Thanks to business representatives who have given us access to and shared their perspectives:
Knut Petter Netland - Titania As
Egil Solheim - Noah As
Solveig Ræg Olsen - Rekefjord Stone As
Erik Joa - Norway Minerals As
Michael Wurmser - Norway Minerals As
Øyvind Standeren Pedersen - Norway Minerals As
Stian Rossi - Cemonite As

Thanks to Heather Jones for editorial support of the publication

and

Thanks to Victoria Durnak for text and editorial work for the publication

Thanks to artist, filmmaker and musician Hanna Biørnstad who designed the visual profile and created a fantastic website for WASTE / DEPOSIT the program.

WASTE / DEPOSIT is supported by: