HELENE TORP

VISUAL ARTIST

Posts from the ‘Projects’ category

ELTH project at Helium

Elth at Helium

Elth at Helium

Spring 2023 I started Elth project with artist Elisabeth Lund and Helene Torp
Our first concert was 30 th of July 2023. “Rense et brøl”,that means cleansing a scream, was at Helium prosject room in my hometown Fredrikstad. A setlist of 10 new songs, some written in collaboration, others solo works from a distance. Content is based around emotional and ritual stuff both penetrating and soft in it´s essence. Elth is voice, drums, monochord, singing bowls, kalimba and beats exploring the vibe of traditional and experimental in sound art, and electronica.

Design: Helene Torp & Elisabeth Lund
Music and lyrics:Helene Torp & Elisabeth Lund
Photo: Liv Elisabet Braaseth

It Is All Forgiven, Scilla Sibirica, performance, Høstutstillingen Statens 131. kunstutstilling Kunstnernes Hus Oslo, Documentation


Helene Torp
Performance ritual
Alt er Tilgitt / It Is All Forgiven
Othocallis siberica

By Helene Torp
With: Helene Torp, Lars Kenneth Westby, Aase-Hilde Brekke
Høstutstillingen 2018 Statens 131. kunstutstilling
Kunstnernes Hus Oslo

Jeg setter meg ned ved planten, blir planten, lytter og skriver ned det jeg hører. Blomsten Scilla brer seg ut over plenen i hager og langs veikanter om våren og plantes om høsten. Den har sin opprinnelse fra Syria, Irak og Sør Russland. Den fortalte meg at den bærer med seg kraften til enhet mellom kulturer. Den sa Alt Er Tilgitt. I fortid, nåtid og framtid.

Dette er et rituale og en hyllest til tilgivelsens rå kraft.
Jeg inviterer publikum til å delta i et lyttende dypdykk og omskapelse av
de store og små kriger.

Helene Torp,
Fredrikstad, august 2018

I sit down by the plant, meditate with the plant, listen and write down what I hear. The flower Scilla spreads over the lawn in gardens and along roadsides in the spring and is planted in the fall.It originates from Syria, Iraq and South Russia. It told me that it carries the power of unity between cultures. It said everything is forgiven. In past, present and future.

This is a performance, a ritual and a tribute to the raw power of forgiveness.
I invite the audience to participate in a listening and transformation of
the big and small wars.

Helene Torp,
Fredrikstad, august 2018

Epipremnum Aureum – Portrait of a man and a plant

Statens 131. kunstutstilling
Høstutstillingen 2018
Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo 8. september – 14. october, Oslo

Kenneth Westby, Epipremnum Aureum

Stills from the film
A portrait of a man and a plant. Kenneth Westby, Epipremnum Aureum

Epipremnum Aureum
Portrait of a man and a plant

Devil’s Ivy, Epipremnum aureum

Theme of the project is ecology, environment, consumption. Investigates the value and presence of house plants in the lives of different people. The life stories of the main characters in the portraits are intertwined with the history of the plant. It is focus on people who have a special and close relationship with selected plants. Lars Kenneth Westby is the main character of the plant portrait Gullranke, Epipremnum aureum

Installation view, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo

Video installation
Hd video 10 min. ladder, plant
Helene Torp © 2018

More info: https://www.hostutstillingen.no/

Performance Alt er Tilgitt / It Is All Forgiven Othocallis siberica,

Sibirica, dried plant harvested in the north

Helene Torp
Performance ritual
Alt er Tilgitt / It Is All Forgiven
Othocallis siberica

By Helene Torp
With: Helene Torp, Lars Kenneth Westby, Aase-Hilde Brekke
Høstutstillingen 2018 Statens 131. kunstutstilling
Kunstnernes Hus Oslo

Jeg setter meg ned ved planten, blir planten, lytter og skriver ned det jeg hører. Blomsten Scilla brer seg ut over plenen i hager og langs veikanter om våren og plantes om høsten.
Den har sin opprinnelse fra Syria, Irak og Sør Russland. Den fortalte meg at den bærer med seg kraften til enhet mellom kulturer. Den sa Alt Er Tilgitt. I fortid, nåtid og framtid.

Dette er et rituale og en hyllest til tilgivelsens rå kraft.
Jeg inviterer publikum til å delta i et lyttende dypdykk og omskapelse av
de store og små kriger.

Helene Torp,
Fredrikstad, august 2018

I sit down by the plant, meditate with the plant, listen and write down what I hear. The flower Scilla spreads over the lawn in gardens and along roadsides in the spring and is planted in the fall.It originates from Syria, Iraq and South Russia. It told me that it carries the power of unity between cultures. It said everything is forgiven. In past, present and future.

This is a performance, a ritual and a tribute to the raw power of forgiveness.
I invite the audience to participate in a listening and transformation of
the big and small wars.

Helene Torp,
Fredrikstad, august 2018


In Process, preparing for ritual

Sibirica, I listen

A portrait of a man and a plant

Portraits of humans and plants
My latest project is a series of portraits of people and their plants.
I visit them at home and they talk about their life and how they connect and live
with their living plants. This is a part of my calling to make art on how to raise sensitivity and respect for all nature and the earth.

Portraits of humans and plants
Kenneth Westby, Epipremnum Aureum
5.40 min., HD, 2017-18
©Helene Torp 2018
Supported by Vederlagsfondet project grant

Kenneth Westby, Epipremnum Aureum

Stills from the film
A portrait of a man and a plant. Kenneth Westby, Epipremnum Aureum, © Helene Torp

Stills from the film
A portrait of a man and a plant. Kenneth Westby, Epipremnum Aureum © Helene Torp

Stills from the film
A portrait of a man and a plant. Kenneth Westby, Epipremnum Aureum © Helene Torp

Stills from the film
A portrait of a man and a plant. Kenneth Westby, Epipremnum Aureum © Helene Torp

Power To Live, Oslo BOA 2017

Power To Live, A Tribute To The White Chestnut trees in Oslo, BOA 2017
Gallery BOA, Helene Torp & Hege Liseth
Co-creators performance,Lars-Kenneth Westby, Aase Hilde Brekke, Torun Avelsgaard Lien
Photograhy: Adrian Bugge Documentation performance, Thomas Roaldsnes Thanks to Nordens Lys for the Music of the plant machine.

Flower Wisdom by Helene Torp

Whispers and wonders from Mother Earth
“Art is a kind of first aid kit and a flower medicine. It heals,but it does not cover up the wounds” Rituals, performance and handcrafted flower essences for emotional healing.
-an ongoing project

I think we humans and animals have an opportunity to listen to nature’s very own characteristics. It is my own experience, but it requires a distinctive listening and trust that this listening is connected with nature and not just an expression of a mental force, a will, even if that force is a part of getting art and the remedies out in the world. I call it first-hand experience. The part of us who can put us in a state, where deep listening to nature is possible. I sit down by the flower or the bush, after a few hours or days of preparation in the spirit, I record og write down what I hear.

Helene Torp

Othocallis siberica
"It is all Forgiven"
Origin Syria, Irak and South of Russia.

“After flowering, the inflorescence sets on the ground with seeds that have an oily pendant. Ants love these seeds and drag them away and eat them. In this way the seeds are spread further. “

Everything is forgiven, future, past, present. This plant carries unity between cultures in the past, present and future time. Othocallis siberica is here to raise peace frequencies on the earth. It can be used for peace work in our time both personal or bigger wars.

Scilla sibirica

Scilla sibirica

Ribes Sanguineum
"Deeper Lasting Love"

“Trauma brought me here, the pain took me there, the shit took me here, blame and charges brought me here, my victim took me here, the courage took me here. I got hurt. I could not see myself in you, like the other, and not as one as part of myself. That you are you and I am me. That love is created from within in a center of stability and some of lasting value. The very self-love. ”

The plant is originally from the coastal area of North America ,
the current British Columbia, Washington , Oregon,
Idaho and California in the US and Canada

Ribes sanguineum © HeleneTorp & width=

Ribes sanguineum ©Helene Torp

I have 18 essences in my series. Please contact me for more information.

Laboratories of Helene Torp ©
22 th of april
9. lab8. Making

Power To Live In A Modern World

Flower Wisdom and Power To Live In a Modern World ©

Flower Wisdom and Power To Live In a Modern World by

Flower Wisdom and Power To Live In A Modern World 

a project by Helene Torp & Hege Liseth

Det er ulike måter naturen kan inspirere oss. Vi undersøker naturens kraft og hva den kan fortelle oss i vår moderne tid.

Prosjektet betår av flere deler – lyd, tekst, bilder, trær og remedier fra trær eller blomster. En del av dette prosjektet består av substans remedier. Vi har tatt utgangspunkt i ideer om naturens, spesielt trær og blomsters, immatrielle krefter og metafysiske dimensjon. Ideer som blant annet eksisterer hos ur-befolkning, i homeopatien, i blomstermedisinen og annen medisin. Vi behandler materialet kunstnerisk for å skape et intimt rom i samtale med naturen. Prosjektet adresserer spørsmål vedrørende miljø- og klima og økologi på en sjangeroverskridende og tverrfaglig måte. Vi ønsker å sette dagsorden gjennom å skape nye fortellinger i samtiden.

Hvert tre eller plante forteller ulike historier. Hittil har vi sett på hestekastanje og syrin, og videre vil vi ta for oss andre norske planter i nærmiljøet som vi har et forhold til. Prosjektet blir presentert som et eksperimentelt labratorium med lyd, tekst og bilder, fysiske planter og ulike remedier.

Arbeidet ble vist første gang i Oslo september 2014, med lyd, tekst, fotografier av prosessen og treet og en glassinstallasjon med blader, røtter og kastanjer fra treet. Dette prosjektet vokser med vært tre eller vekst som snakker til oss.

Nature is. Nature has often been used as an image of beingness, something beyond human control. A part of us are always plain physical matter ticking at its own pace, controlled from somewhere other than our conscious self. This project is all about nature’s relationship to us. Nature speaks to us and restore a balance that has been disturbed somewhere along the way.

The project consists of several media – audio, text, photos, trees and remedies from trees or plants. The audio works are created as a “stream of consciousness”, as the forces of nature talks through us. We create our own flower remedies which are part of the installation, and bring messages and strengthening powers from nature. The remedies are created from the recipe of Dr. Bach. Dr. Edward Bach was a British physical and spiritual writer who was inspired by homeopathy, and developed a system of flower medicine in the early 1900s.

Remedy no 1 is made from the flowers of white chestnut tree growing outside Helene’s house. It was first shown in Oslo in September 2014, with audio work, text, photographs of the tree and of the process and also a glass installation with leaves, roots and chestnuts from the tree. Remedy no 2 are from the lilac. It has not yet been exhibited. The lilac tells us a different story and support us in other ways than the white chestnut. This project grows with each tree or plant that speak to us.

Nature is. Nature has often been used as an image of beingness, something beyond human control. A part of us are always plain physical matter ticking at its own pace, controlled from somewhere other than our conscious self. This project is all about nature’s relationship to us. Nature speaks to us and restore a balance that has been disturbed somewhere along the way.

The project consists of several media – audio, text, photos, trees and remedies from trees or plants. The audio works are created as a “stream of consciousness”, as the forces of nature talks through us. We create our own flower remedies which are part of the installation, and bring messages and strengthening powers from nature. The remedies are created from the recipe of Dr. Bach. Dr. Edward Bach was a British physical and spiritual writer who was inspired by homeopathy, and developed a system of flower medicine in the early 1900s.

Remedy no 1 is made from the flowers of white chestnut tree growing outside Helene’s house. It was first shown in Oslo with audio work, text, photographs of the tree and of the process and also a glass installation with leaves, roots and chestnuts from the tree. Remedy no 2 are from the lilac.The lilac tells us a different story and support us in other ways than the white chestnut. This project grows with each tree or plant in my garden.

White Chestnut "Power To Live In A Modern World"

White Chestnut “Power To Live In A Modern World”©

White Chestnut" Power To Live In A Modern World"

White Chestnut “Power To Live In A Modern World”

Noisy Prayer exhibition view

Exhibition – Galleri Vulkan September 6-21

“Noisy Prayer” explores metaphysical realities with different approaches to a non-physical and spiritual world. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, photography, video, sound work and various remedies that relate to each other in a playful way.

Power to live In a modern world, Almost There, Into The Sun, Entering With Sound, Sounds Of Mother Earth

Installation view:

Noisy Prayer exhibition view Exhibition in collaboration with Hege Liseth. Galleri Vulkan, Oslo

“Noisy Prayer” explores metaphysical realities with different approaches to a non-physical and spiritual world.

The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, photography, video, sound work and various. The alternation between individual works relate to each other in a playful way and reveal different parts of the story. The paintings and drawings, all performative elements and expression of the movement of energy. To activate and set things in motion are articulated in different ways. Organic, fluid and abstract elements mix with simple line configurations where fantasy and reality are put under the microscope. All are products of the intuitive processes, most first take. Sound work also appears as a “stream of consiousness” with conversations in nature and with energies and intangible forces. A collection of self-produced remedies blends into the installation with message of strength and power to live in a modern world. Through video works, both documentary and staged elements, of what spiritual practice might be. One of the videos are taken from YouTube and shows Mooji ,a spiritual leader based in Portugal, who shares his thoughts on the Middle East problem, on about war, peace and human identity. Do we fight for peace? Torp & Liseth invited various people to participate with their comments and dialogue on peace.

“Noisy Prayer” utforsker metafysiske virkelighetsbilder med ulike innfallsvinkler til en ikke-fysisk/ åndelig verden.

Vekslingen mellom enkeltverk i ulike kunstneriske media er montert på en leken måte som forteller hver sin del av historien. Maleriene og tegningene har alle performative elementer og uttrykk for bevegelse av energi. Å aktivere, og å sette ting i bevegelse blir tematisert på ulike måter. Avtrykk av fingre gir nærvær og tilstedeværelse. Organiske, flytende og abstrakte elementer blander seg med enkle strekfigurasjoner hvor fantasi og virkelighet blir satt under lupen. Alle er produkter av intuitive arbeidsprosesser, mest mulig uredigert, som energibærere i seg selv. Lydarbeidene fremstår også som en “stream of consiousness”, med samtaler med naturen og med energier og immatrielle krefter. En samling egenproduserte blomsteressenser blandes inn i installasjonen med budskap og styrkedråper fra naturen. Gjennom videoarbeidene vises dokumentariske og iscenesatte elementer av hva spirituell praksis kan innebære. Et av videoverkene er hentet fra YouTube og viser en åndelig guru som deler sine tanker om midtøsten-problematikken, om krig, fred og menneskets identitet. Verket blir brukt som utgangspunkt for en dialog hvor kunstnerne har invitert ulike mennesker til å delta med sine kommentarer.

View the singular works in the exhibition here: