Triptych

 First Stop: Norway An Installation by Per Barclay

For Tryptic – First Stop: Norway, Per Barclay develops a site-specific installation within the historic Royal Stables in Oslo, transforming the space into a contemplative chamber where history, memory, and reflection converge. At the center of the project stands one of Norway's most emblematic national treasures: The Entry into Miklagard (1900), one of the celebrated Norwegian National Tapestries designed by Gerhard Munthe and woven by Frida Hansen.

The tapestry depicts King Sigurd Jorsalfare's arrival in Miklagard—Constantinople, the gateway between Europe and the East—evoking the Norwegian king's legendary journey to Jerusalem and the Mediterranean world between 1108 and 1111. Conceived at a crucial moment in the construction of Norwegian national identity around 1900, the monumental work became a powerful symbol of Norway's historical imagination and cultural aspirations. For more than a century, the tapestry occupied a prominent place within the Royal Palace, serving as a visual introduction to visitors entering the seat of the Norwegian monarchy.

Per Barclay's intervention introduces one of his signature materials: a large reflective surface of black oil spread across the floor beneath the tapestry. The oil creates a dark mirror in which the image is doubled, dissolved, and reactivated. Through reflection, the historical narrative represented in the tapestry is transformed into a contemporary experience. The surface simultaneously evokes depth and uncertainty, memory and oblivion, inviting viewers to reconsider how national myths are constructed, preserved, and transmitted.

The Royal Stable, a place historically associated with movement, travel, and royal journeys, becomes a symbolic point of departure. In Barclay's installation, Sigurd's voyage is metaphorically resumed. Reflected in the oil, the image appears suspended between past and present, reality and memory. The tapestry's narrative extends beyond its historical frame, suggesting a renewed passage between North and South, between Norway, Normandy, and the Mediterranean.

The installation marks the first chapter of Tryptic, an international project unfolding across three territories linked by history, migration, conquest, and cultural exchange. The work will be documented through a series of large-scale photographs produced by the artist. One of these monumental photographic works, capturing the encounter between the National Tapestry and Barclay's reflective oil surface, will become an autonomous artwork and a central element of the subsequent installations in Rouen's St Ouen, in Normandy, and in Palermo 's San Cataldo, in Sicily.

Through this displacement, the figure of King Sigurd symbolically undertakes his journey once again. The narrative represented in the tapestry travels southward, reconnecting territories historically linked by medieval routes, Norman expansion, crusading expeditions, and centuries of cultural exchange. The project establishes a dialogue between Norway, Normandy, and Italy, creating a contemporary reflection on movement, identity, and the circulation of stories across Europe.

Queen Sonja Art Stable (Dronning Sonja KunstStall), Oslo
Under the High Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Sonja and the Royal House of Norway

Practical information : 

General Public

Price : 140NOK

Partners: Oslo Contemporary Gallery, Francesco Pantaleone Gallery, Church of San Cataldo (Palermo), UNESCO Committee, (Palermo)