In 2020, it was 80 years since Norway was attacked in 1940, and 75 years since the liberation in 1945. Roseslottet is an art installation and an educational project that aims to tell the story of the occupation of Norway and the basic principles of democracy, the rule of law and humanism which was then put out of force.
We want to tell the story of the war without demonizing or glorifying, central to the narrative is the individual and its choice.
We touch on both known and lesser-known aspects of the occupation: the sufferings of prisoners of war, the unknown individual, everyday life, the drama of war sailors, the resistance struggles in the south and north.
The persecution of the Norwegian Jews receives great attention in the series of images and anti-Semitism, before and during the war, is depicted.
The artistic language wants to engage, challenge and confront. In short, bring to life. We don't look at the world with an academic/analytical look.
It is not our task — and a work of art can never be true in a scientific sense. Art is a subjective narrative of the world, it invites dialogue.
We want the Rose Castle to become an arena where different historical disciplines can be broken. In this space between art and knowledge, new insights can arise.
The entire Rose Castle as such will stand as a worthy, quiet and clearly no today; to intolerance, anti-Semitism and racism – and remind us and "bring to life" the values we were deprived of during the occupation.
At the top of Oslo – at the height of Frognerseteren – clearly visible from the city and surrounding areas, five luminous structures of "gold" will symbolize the five war years' struggle for freedom and democracy.
A 26-metre column will form a "shining sail" to honor the sailors and the navy. Two equally tall structures, shaped like a tree and a mountain, will honor the resistance from South Norway to Northern Norway.
A pillar shaped like a double section of an aircraft wing and one half of a quill points to the air force, the civil resistance and the illegal press. The last installation Kongebjerka, will stand in the middle.
With its 30 meters, it points to the King and his NO. The king's bjerka testifies to the courageous choices of the individual and the principled belief in our democratic constitution.
This mental protection is our strongest defense. Clauses of the Constitution are written into the tree's "bark." Bjerka becomes like a shining spine that reminds us that these principles only live as long as we believe in them. The king is the vision of the free individual and civil resilience.
At the entrance stands "The White Rose" and points to the group of German oppositional of the same name, and at the same time is an example of people's struggle against oppression – even when it may seem most hopeless.
In the Greek city-states, democracy and philosophical thinking came to life in squares and streets — as the questions filled the air. Now the idea of a natural law emerged, thoughts that ultimately ended in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Greeks, meanwhile, created an pedagogy to educate citizens in free thinking and free speech, the geometry of geometry.
The Rose Castle will exhibit geometric installations pointing to ancient free art and the Renaissance humanists' fascination with the harmony of geometric forms.
Astronomer Johannes Kepler hopes that the geometry of the planetary system can teach humans friendship and peace. Leonardo da Vinci illustrates a textbook in geometry and draws man inscribed in the square and circle.
Man was at the center and the human had become an ideal and a purpose. The geometry testifies to the scientific exploration of the world and with its clear language it points to the transparency of free society.
Its symmetries are related to the equilibrium of the anger layer and the balance between the forces of the state. Geometry is visible sense and as the music reveals the fundamental harmonies of nature.
It is not only a legacy of antiquity, but the pattern of physics. The geometry is universal – like freedom.
The geometric sculptures are surrounded by over 90 monumental paintings mainly with motifs from World War II in Norway.
The war in Norway is told in new and surprising ways with different artistic languages.
The Rose Castle is an art installation and an educational landscape that will nourish the senses, sense and heart.
We call it a sensory arena for all man. The educational idea is to bring the story to life through personal storytelling and various artistic forms of expression in a spectacular scenography – on the border of the deep forests.
The project is secular and caters to everyone, across religion, beliefs and political views and regardless of age.
To counter polarization in society, a vision that unites – a community of values is important. The humanist Seneca wrote about the state of the human family as early as 2,000 years ago.
It points out that the first and most important community we belong to is being human beings.
The Rose Castle will inspire to create the future based on the belief in human dignity and freedom and with this contribute to the mental protection, which is the real defense against totalitarian forces.
If we believe in the inherent dignity of man, we can provide a common point of view and foundation. Our vision of human dignity culminates in the main construction in the middle of the Rose Castle: "The Star of the Unborn."
With its universal geometric language, it will tell about universal values. It is a star that shines against us from the future and testifies that we also have a fellowship with the generations that come after us. At the star, the audience can read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In the Rose Castle, art is extracted from the closed rooms and inserted into nature and unfolds through the alternation of seasons, in snow and rain, in light, darkness and dusk.
Highlighting the witnesses and their stories is an important part of the art project that aims to tell about the events at the individual level. In addition to this, we will also put on multimedia performances from the stage in the Rose Castle, where paintings and geometry are put in the context of each other.
All days: 10:00–17:00.
Thursdays: 10.00-20.00
Roseslottet's exhibition is open until 31.12.2025
The homepage is designed by: Sandbox
Developed by: Verdi Media Norway AS
Roseslottet is located on the hill by the Frognerseteren subway station.
The homepage is designed by: Sandbox
Developed by: Verdi Media Norway AS