Alt er trist, deiligt trist. (Everything is sad, deliciously sad.)
Pesta (The Plague)
Theodor Kittelsens’ character Pesta is the personification of the Black Death. I’ve had an idea for many years; to use the stories of epidemics (such as Tuberculosis, The Spanish Flu and Polio), my relatives and ancestors experienced, in a diorama.
Exhibiting my work at the Theodor Kittelsen Museum, Blaafarveverket, Norway the summer of 2024, Pesta was a perfect character to combine with this idea.
Polio
Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. It mainly affects nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem, and can lead to paralysis. It can also lead to trouble breathing, and sometimes death.
The last epidemics in Norway lasted from 1950 -1954, and this diorama is set to that period.
Bringing the diorama to my exhibition at The Kittelsen Museum
The Fear
The overall theme for this diorama is this crying mothers’ fear. The anxiety she feels that visitors may have brought the disease to the house. The fear of not being able to protect her family. Pesta is someone who will always be around in the world,as long as there are epidemics and pandemics.
The house: Vinterstua
I have grown up with stories about how the Polio epidemics affected my parents and their families when they were children in the early fifties. This particular scene takes place in a house inspired by Vinterstua (The winter-house) from 1800, on my grandparents’ farm in Østerdalen.
This house got electricity in the fifties, while the telephone came much earlier.
The interior reflects different time periods, and the diorama is aiming to reflect generations of use.
The Child
I tried different versions of the child. I tested a mouse with eyes wide open, listening to Pesta climbing the stairs. I tried with an older-looking girl. But this version seemed to work the best, very young and innocent. And I wanted to give her the most comfortable position, all curled up, cosy and safe…
Everyday life
I tested a version where the father is taking part in mothers’ upsetting conversation, emphatically comforting her. However, I later changed to him bringing in wood. The disease was part of everyday life. And more importantly, he left the door unlocked…
Building the house
The hidden staircase
I loved this staircase in my grandparents’ house. The steps were steep, the space very narrow and small. It was slightly scary, but also mysterious and wonderful. Recreating it to the tiniest detail for this diorama, was really exciting.
The three rooms
Downstairs is the hall, and upstairs is the bedroom and the outer attic-space.
It was important to stay true to the different styles of these rooms, to tell the story of a house that has been in use for hundreds of years.
Pesta
Pesta is sculpted from polymer clay. She carries a rake, which according to the mythologi, means that she will spare some lives. If she brings a broom, everyone in the house dies.
Her teeth are from a mouse scull. (The mouse had died a natural death).
The telephone
This telephone is a miniature replica of an Electric Bureau Kristiania Norway model with a coat of arms handpainted “print”. I made it from wood , metal, buttons, pearls, thread and clay. Panited and stained.
The artworks
Painting pictures for the walls in the bedroom. Making frames from wood and metal.
Details
The sheperd with his goat-sculpture is made from polymer clay.
Dustpan and broom,made from wood, aliminum, and a piece of rabbits fur.
The cupboard/drawer
Lots of woodwork needed for this diorama!
I built a quite big, antique drawer, that I decorated with the use of a Dremmel and a carving tool.
From Th.Kittelsens SVARTEDAUEN (The Black Death).1900.
I have chose the title “Everything is sad, deliciously sad, from this poem.
Behind the scenes!
Playing around and blocking the scene takes a lot of time. Superfun though!
