Mosaic production for the 22 July memorial in Oslo

Matias Faldbakken’s Upholding is based on re-erecting the large steel rig that was built to cut out and relocate Pablo Picasso’s artwork The Fishermen from the demolished Y-block to the new A-block. In this version, the rig will be filled with a monumental mosaic made of stone.

The mosaic’s imagery is taken from the island of Utøya – a drawing of a small wader and some reeds and twigs reflected in the waters of the Tyrifjord. The other side of the rig will show the pattern of the braced frame once used to hold The Fishermen and become a geometric relief painted in deep blue, deep green, and vivid red.

The rig and the mosaic will act as a link between the two scenes of the terrorist attack, the Government Quarter and Utøya.

The film shows the mosaic production in the Fantini Mosaici workshop in Milan, Italy.