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Hávamál 138, 1, 77 & Varðlokkr

2026 | knife-borne sound body and electronics

HAVAMÁL 138

for Ivar the Boneless (robot)

138. Jag vet, att jag hängde på det vindiga trädet
nio hela nätter, djupt stungen med spjut
och given åt Oden,
jag själv åt mig själv,
uppe i det träd, varom ingen vet,
av vad rot det runnit upp.

138. Veit ek, at ek hekk vindga meiði á
nætr allar níu, geiri undaðr
ok gefinn Óðni,
sjalfr sjalfum mér,
á þeim meiði, er manngi veit
hvers af rótum renn.

138. I ween that I hung on the windy tree,
hung there for nights full nine;
with the spear I was wounded, and offered I was
to Othin, myself to myself,
on the tree that none may ever know
what root beneath it runs.

recitation: Ingeborg
choir: Töcken
robot voice: Malm

Part of an ongoing installation- and performance-based practice drawing on Hávamál as textual and structural material.
Hávamál 138 is conceived as both a video work and an installation.
The installation unfolds within a contained spatial structure referred to as Hägn.
A knife-bearing sound body moves through constrained, dragging motion. Contact microphones capture friction, impacts and mechanical strain, producing a continuous sound layer generated by the body itself.
The robotic sound voice may operate autonomously, with or without the accompanying recorded choir and recitation.
The choir and recitation also appear as part of upcoming project with the duo Vento Nero.

HAVAMÁL 1

1. 1. Alla dörrar,
innan in man går,
skarpt skådas skola,
skarpt granskas skola,
ty ovisst är att veta,
var ovänner sitta
borta på salens bänkar.

1. Gáttir allar,
áðr gangi fram,
um skoðask skyli,
um skyggnast skyli,
því at óvíst er at vita,
hvar óvinir
sitja á fleti fyrir.

1. At every door-way,
ere one enters,
one should spy round,
one should pry round
for uncertain is the witting
that there be no foeman sitting,
within, before one on the floor

recitation: Ingeborg 
choir: Töcken
on-screen presence: Mira Ellis

Part of an ongoing installation- and performance-based practice drawing on Hávamál as textual and structural material.
Hávamál #1 is conceived as both a video work and an installation. The work features a custom-built robotic performance system physically manipulating braided hair through slow, force-controlled movements. The interaction is amplified using contact microphones, transforming gestures of grooming and restraint into a sonic and ritualistic event.
The choir and recitation also appear as part of upcoming project with the duo Vento Nero.

HAVAMÁL 77

77.
Deyr fé,
deyja frændr,
deyr sjálfr it sama;
ek veit einn
at aldri deyr
dómr um dauðan hvern.

Part of an ongoing performative and installation-based practice drawing on Hávamál as textual and structural material.
The choir and recitation also appear as part of upcoming project with the duo Vento Nero.

recitation: Ingeborg
strings: String textures draw on material developed in earlier works, including Portmanteau Morphemes and Mors et Natura, reconfigured within a new sonic and performative context.

VARÐLOKKR
mechanic trance

omnidirectional, unbounded rotation

Part of an ongoing installation- and performance-based practice drawing on Hávamál as textual and structural material.

to be put into service
within VENTO NERO

Video source footage: Christian Åslund