Unveiled 2013

“Pulp Press (Kistefos)”
by John Gerrard

Installation, evening, river.

Pulp Press (Kistefos) by John Gerrard resumes the manufacture at Kistefos, only digital. Photo: Jiri Havran.

Pulp Press (Kistefos)

  • Unveiled 2013
  • Materials 3D-simulation, cast cement, concrete, stainless steel, black anodized aluminum hard drives, various materials
  • Dimensions c. 500 × 1300 × 670 cm
  • Artist John Gerrard
  • Where Show on map

Based on the machines inside the old wood pulp mill, Gerrard has made a unique video sculpture. The sculpture awakens the pulp mill and resumes the manufacture of wood pulp, nearly 60 years after the production stopped.

The animation represents Kistefos and the production process and products that used to be at Kistefos Træsliberi. Gerrard has digitalized pictures of the wet-lap machine and the production hall. What separates the wood pulp produced today from the wood pulp of the past, is that the current production only exists in a virtual form. The production is stored on hard disks placed on the “benches” inside the installation. The hard disks gradually fill up before being exchanged with new ones inside the pavilion. During the course of one year, three hard disks are filled with virtual wood pulp sheets. 

Pulp Press is closely linked to Kistefos as a historic site and can be seen as a mirror of the past. At the same time, by its aesthetics and medium, it represents something distinctly forward-looking and vibrant. The pavilion design is a collaboration between Gerrard and the architectural firm A2 in Dublin, Ireland. The installation is site-specific, and it took Gerrard two years to create the high-tech animation. The machines are still intact in the wood pulp mill and can be seen there.

Gerrard John Pulp Press 01

Pulp Press (Kistefos) by John Gerrard awakens the pulp mill and resumes the manufacture of wood pulp, nearly 60 years after the production stopped. Photo: Jiri Havran.

J Gerrard Pulp Press 03

Pulp Press (Kistefos) by John Gerrard seen from the Randselva River. Photo: Jiri Havran.

J Gerrard Pulp Press 16

Pulp Press (Kistefos) by John Gerrard. Photo: Jiri Havran.