Our grey walls' echo, 2022

Series of 12
Screenprint on Jotun paint sample cards, custom oak frame
23 × 20 × 2 cm

Our grey walls’ echo consists of twelve framed Jotun paint sample cards, each with screen-printed text in English and Norwegian. The printed phrases are the empty statements we exchange in everyday conversation – expressions meant to keep us moving forward, yet they often leave us numb. Instead of opening space for reflection or doubt, they shut down any questioning of the middle-class grind and the persistent pressure to have it all. Jotun, Norway’s best-selling decorative paint brand, distributes these sample cards in hardware stores across the country. I chose only shades of grey, referencing the long-standing trend of grey walls in middle-class homes over the last decades – a backdrop that mirrors the subdued emotional register of the phrases themselves.

Our grey walls’ echo reflects on these suspended, silenced conversations that could have taken place in our grey-painted living rooms. The work comments on the ideal of a fulfilling life we continuously strive toward, and the subtle ways we reinforce it. “I’m fine, thank you, it’s busy.”

Photos: Jan Inge Haga