Flex Point

19th Aug -
25th Sep

Northing and Entrée joined forces and opened  Flex Point – an exhibition across both spaces, presenting a group of 11 East-Asian artists and designers who recently graduated from academies in Norway.

Flex Point, also known as an inflexion point, is a point on a curve at which the curvature changes from convex to concave, or vice versa. Figuratively, it is used to describe a pivotal moment at which a major or decisive change takes place. On a graph presenting such a curve, unlike turning points that are easily recognizable to the non-mathematical eye, flex points tend to remain obscure and concealed. When you zoom in on such a point, the curve appears to transform into a straight line, seemingly indicating no significant changes have occurred. However, from that moment onward, something fundamental has indeed changed.

On June 9, 2023, an inconspicuous day on the calendar, the Norwegian parliament passed a law introducing tuition fees for international students from non-EU countries. This seemingly unremarkable day marked a flex point in Norwegian history, carrying significant consequences for the future. This spring, the last group of art and design students with East Asian cultural backgrounds who enjoyed free education graduated from Norwegian art schools and universities. Each of these individuals is now crossing their own flex point as they embark on their journeys to become artists and designers, whether in Norway, their home countries, or elsewhere in the vast world.

Opening speach

We, human beings, all have a fascination with straight lines. No, that’s such an arbitrary generalisation; no one wants to be arbitrarily generalised. Let’s start over again. I, a male Chinese former architect, have a fascination with straight lines. Words that describe straight lines sound all so positive: direct, straightforward, steady, prompt, unswerving…you have all of them. Theoretically, it is supposed to be the most efficient and fast way to bring two points together, from your current position to your goal. But in my life, if I trace back, it’s seldom, if ever, that I experienced anything occurring in such a linear pattern. our lives, please indulge me in generalising here, are wove out with all kinds of curves. If you’ve been skiing or snowboarding, no, you don’t have to do that to understand such a normal phenomenon. 

Like setting up this exhibition, with 11 exhibitors all riding up and down, left and right on their own curving trajectories of life, we finally come to this point, where all the curves meet in Bergen in the form of this duo-venue exhibition. 

The title of this exhibition is Flex Point. I don’t know if there are any physicists or mathematicians in the audience ‘cause I’m going to borrow quite a few terms from them, and if there are any, please don’t correct me ‘cause they’re all used metaphorically.

Flex Point, also known as an inflexion point, is a point on a curve at which the curvature changes from convex to concave. It’s not a turning point where the change occurred tends to be more visual on a graph. Flex points are more hidden and obscure, but once you pass one, something fundamental is changed. For example, the introduction of tuition fees for international students from non-EU countries; when we look back in the future, it might be regarded as such a point. But I don’t intend to elaborate on the things that we cannot change anymore. Let's focus on the East Asian artists here today, who did enjoy the last ride on the train of free education here in Norway.

However different all these exhibitors are, there was something in common that happened recently on their curves of trekking towards the goal of being an established artist or designer: They just reached a summit, a significant academic achievement; they all graduated with a master’s degree from one of the art institutions in Norway. Although there is still a long way to go towards that ultimate goal, you have already done a great job reaching the milestone where you can see your goals clearer and probably closer. So, congratulations to all of you! Well done! 

Now, it’s time to move on. I understand it could be a bit scary to walk away from a summit because it might appear that from now on, no matter which path you take, before you can start ascending again, you have to walk down first. There’ll be new challenges and obstacles, new decisions to make (sometimes it won’t even be you who makes these decisions), like visas and work permits, grants and job opportunities, staying here or pursuing your dreams elsewhere, but as long as you keep on striving and do what you were confirmed that you have talent in; eventually, you’ll be going up again, maybe sooner than you expected, especially when you feel it’s getting tougher, the journey becomes arduous again, that means you are drawing closer to the next summit.

We were once like you, testing the soil here with no roots but trying to find the right spot to grow one. We are still like you, seeking opportunities and support to move forward to get closer to our dreams. And trust me, opportunities and support will come in different shapes and occasions. That’s also one of the major purposes of Northing: to promote and support East Asian artists in Norway. 

And we are also grateful for all the support that we received from the local art community. Especially our collaborator in this exhibition, Entrée. Thanks, Kristen and Randi, for making this happen. Our thanks also go to Bergen Kunsthallen, Bergen Assembly, our great neighbour Literature House in Bergen, Grafill Bergen and OK Kontor for supporting us with equipment and love, to Bergen Kommune for their continuing support and the permission for the performance on the streets. Last but not least, an internal thanks to my great partner, Yilei, for pulling off such a fascinating visual identity for the show; it's an art piece in itself.

We hope this exhibition could be a potential inflexion point for all the exhibitors, where a little more effort, a slight nudge to the side, might give it enough momentum to make a fundamental change, from convex to concave, from acceleration to deceleration. It might still go in the wrong direction for a while, keep going down, keep sinking, but in a highly anticipated future, it will brighten up and start climbing again.