Our deadline art projects
- created between 1986 and now
We are revamping our site due to the demise of Adobe Flash, and are working our way chronologically backwards. If you miss an old project or would like to talk to us about old times, please get in touch.
«We are a trick. An illusion so perfect that we end up being true.»
Time and Time again (2017)
Deadline art project exploring time and space in a Budapest that is beyond history and time.. Explore the «Time and Time again» project here
Eirik V Johnsen and Kristian Pohl walked the streets of Budapest with the friendly guidance of Antonia, Lena, Ester and Stefan. Thank you so much for all help and support!
«There is still time for one last push»
Requiem for Slussen, movement IV (2017)
Deadline art project revisiting Stockholm and exploring the foundations of a new Slussen rising. Explore the «Requiem for Slussen, movement IV» project here
Eirik V Johnsen and Kristian Pohl wore the overalls. Susanne Walström did her magic and Staffan Bengtsson walked with us and created the words.
«Preparing for the final curtain»
Burial of a Dream (2017)
Deadline art project set in a quarry 40 miles outside of Stockholm in the middle of of the Stockholm archipelago. Read more about «Burial of a Dream» here
Eirik V Johnsen and Kristian Pohl buried the dream together with Johan Bergmark and Ulf Berglund
«The waiting time is the worst time. It is almost over now.»
Other Side of Wisdom (2016)
Deadline art project set in the North-West quadrant of wales, exploring the limits of friendship within the confines of a 1961 Mini, converted to Cooper standard. Read more about «Other Side of Wisdom» here
Eirik V Johnsen and Kristian Pohl were the friends who drove the back streets
«The walls of the room know more than they ever will tell.»
Father & Son, Inc (2016)
Deadline art project set in the Örnskiold hotel, featuring the quiet suited gentlemen, their fathers and the incomparable Johan Bergmark. Read more about «Father & Son, Inc» here
Eirik V Johnsen and Kristian Pohl wore the tailored suits. Their fathers supplied the depth. Johan Bergmark made it all happen.
«Like his father before him he walked those girders of the Stockholm skyline»
Requiem for Slussen, movement III (2016)
Deadline art project set in Slussen, revisiting this site of confusion, destructon and demolition. The quiet gentlemen donned their coveralls and got down to work. Read more about «Requiem for Slussen, movement iii» here
Eirik V Johnsen and Kristian Pohl wore the coveralls. Stockholm city and Skanska demolished the old Slussen. Susanne Walström documented the journey.
«Those stone samples became mixed up in the earthquake»
Red Sector (2016)
Deadline art project set Soknadalstrand in the abandoned lighthouse at Lille Presteskjær and the mine across the road. Read more about «Red Sector» here
Eirik V Johnsen and Kristian Pohl wore the suits. Anki Gneib and Annica Thomsson walked with us and created the magic.
English version of the Requiem for Slussen, movement II video
Requiem for Slussen, movement II (2016)
Deadline art project set in Stockholm i the ever mor dilapidated Slussen. Read more about «Requiem for Slussen» here
Eirik V Johnsen and Kristian Pohl wore the overalls. Susanne Walström did her own particular brand of image magic and Staffan Bengtsson walked with us and created the words.
«Another game of Bluff»
Off the Grid (2015)
Deadline art project set in the Faroe islands. Ranging from the deep fiords in the North East to an abandoned NATO base close to Torshavn the suited gentlemen went off the grid in search of another country. Read more about what we found in «Off the Grid» here
Eirik V Johnsen and Kristian Pohl wore the suits. Annica Thomsson supported our gallery work in the final stages.
«The Lagoon»
Where Everything Changes (2015)
Deadline art project set in in Venice, Italy exploring time and history. Venice is a place out of time, where past, present and future intermingle and interact with an effortless grace. Read more about what we found in «Where Everything Changes» here
Eirik V Johnsen and Kristian Pohl wore the suits.
Upcoming projects (to be moved from old site)
Requiem For Slussen, Movement 1, 2013
Kristian Pohl and Eirik V Johnsen are back and they are now very close to home. The SX-70 Europe project has always been about borders and outposts, but this time they have found one in Kristians home town.
Männen i arbetskläder är huvudfigurer i SX-70, ibland är de kostymklädda, ibland kan de dyka upp i rena cameoroller som sig själva. De dyker gärna upp i utkanten av något vi redan känner till. Där uppstår ofta en dialog mellan männen och staden de besöker.
Nippy Guilt, 2014
Bruno Magazine asked mentalpropell.com to undertake a journey in a Fiat 500CC to support their upcoming «car upholstery» issue.
We asked Susanne Walström to create the images and travelled to Ekerö north of Stockholm on a fraught journey.
Deformation Zone Yellow, 2014
In Kiruna the miners follow a diagonal shaft of ore that «lean in» under the city. As they dig deeper the deformation zones are getting too close to the city – by 2013 key utilities like railroad, power, water and roads have been rerouted and moved. From the end of 2013 to 2033 about 3 000 homes will be moved as well.
Mentalpropell was in Kiruna on the 21st and 22nd of september 2013 and explored the deformation zones.
Bat Zone, 2013
This summer we had visitors from Norway. They had brought a Batman mask, and the rest just kind of happened. Just enjoying the Gällnö experience with Anki, Kristian, Nora, Annica, Annamaja and Goa
Mortimers Eye, 2013
We are proud and happy to introduce a new collaborative project – this time with Anki Gneib who has created the enigmatic EYESHINE artefacts that we explore along the western coast of Norway.
She calls them «EYESHINE» but for us they will always be «Mortimers Eye». This is the story of our journey down the Atlantic highway («Atlanterhavsveien») and how we emerged beyond the looking glass.
Anki Gneib created the shapes and mirrors, Kristian Pohl and Eirik V Johnsen drove down the highway in january 2013.
Sendings and Receiving, 2012
This is our first collaborative project. We worked together with Lavasir Nordrum in his project «Wherever You Go – There You Are» – a digital poetry project with ambitions to poetically observe the wider cultural, religious and geographical meaning of borders.
We also interpreted each location for our own project «Sendings / Receivings»
Our starting point was the beach of Guadalmesi – the point in Europe that is closest to Africa. We then moved to the beach of Eddalya in Morroco – the point in Africa that is closest to Europe. In both places the suited gentlemen explored the meaning of borders.
Eirik V Johnsen, Kristian Pohl and Lavasir Nordrum walked the beaches in may 2012. Read more about «Whereever You Go …» by Lavasir here.
Silent Cargo, 2011
The quiet, suited gentlemen of SX-70 Europe has undertaken the task of exploring «The tears of christ» in the deep Finnish woods of Sievi, where master craftsmen have toiled since june to create HOLY – a monumental piece, cared from a single piece of wood.
This is the first project in «Overland Express» – a new mentalpropell.com project initiative where the artists are on a mission to transport a consignment from a source to a receiver. The rest is up to the journey
We hope you are tempted to enter and explore the world of Silent Cargo. Anki Gneib created the monumental candlesticks. Eirik V Johnsen and Kristian Pohl drove in november 2011.
Silent Cargo is our 15th SX-70 Europe deadline art project at mentalpropell.com
Drabant, 2011
Tiden står ikke stille. Ikke i Berlin, ikke noe annet sted. Tiden går litt langsommere noen steder. Som om alt henger igjen i de uendelige alleene og overvektige fasadene. En kort stund var det fremtidstroen som speilet seg i meissen-porselenet. Nå kan du gå bakover fra Alexanderplatz langs tomme restauranter, butikker og kafeer. Helt til du ikke tenker over muren lenger. Klikk her for å utforske DRABANT prosjektet. Annica Thomsson, Line Gunnarrud og Cathrine Paulsen gikk tre dager i september 2011.
Calm Like You, 2011
After Iceland we realized that we needed new threads. We contacted Richard Anderson on Savile Row and he agreed to fit us for two suits that are optimized for future dresscode projects. Our rebirth into our new suits is documented here.
Thanks to Anders Fagerhus for the design assist in the original version.
Blind Mans Bluff, 2010
Inside-Out | Outside-In
Blind mans bluff is a childrens game played in a limited area.
Our projects are always exploring outposts and borders. On Iceland the borders are almost physical, dividing sea, sky and the strange, beautiful, tortured mass of stone, lava, earth and water that make up the land.
This time we met an almost primal landscape gently molded by an easygoing, friendly, tough and resilient people.
Reykjavik, september 2010
Shadow of Giants, 2010
We love Ireland and for this brief two day lab Annica and Line decided to travel to County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Our destination was Portrush where we spent the day looking for the loud but cowardly giant Finn.
Plan Bravo, 2010
The poetry of the slow season
Sälen is a popular winter destination in Sweden. Like any season resort it is a lovely place to visit out of season, when the money making machine is set aside and everybody relaxes a bit more. We have always been fascinated with the poetry of abandoned places, and Sälen off season sure had a lot of poetry to offer us.
Sälen, april 2010
Zwischen, 2009
What happens afterwards?
ZWISCHEN shows what happens in a city landscape when two photographers decide to change the landscape by becoming part of it.
This is a lab project, extending the experiences from "DRESSCODE: Guardians of the tragic poet". Kristian Pohl and Eirik Johnsen are the Dresscode guys
Berlin, september 2009
Molekyler, 2009
De minste materialene
MOLEKYLER viser de mikrosopiske delene som samtaler består av og som skaper et fellesskap hver dag. Dialogene er deler av samvær som oppstår, forsvinner og som setter spor. Til sammen danner molekylene et felles rom. Cathrine Th Paulsen (tekst) og Annica Thomsson (foto) har plukket molekylene fra hverandre i Stockholm og Oslo.
Oslo 8, sommeren 2009
Guardians of the Tragic Poet, 2009
After our Polish project we decided that we needed to get closer to the subject. We decided to go to the vacation island of Fårö in midwinter and create images where we ourselves were participants. We are very exited about the result!
Before Long, 2008
Before long we were in the Tatra mountains
We felt the pull of Krakow and the Tatra mountains and decided to follow our deadline art project to another corner of Europe. Friendly people, great mountains and lovely Krakow made it a great total experience. And, yes, the images just begged to be reproduced as diptychs.
Slipstream, 2007
Høsten 2007 besøkte vi Sørlandskysten mellom Lyngør og Lindesnes. Reisen hadde som grunnidé å utforske det som skyves unna for å gi plass til noe annet eller noe nytt.
Reisen skjedde i tidsrommet 18. til 20. september 2007.
Hopscotch, 2007
Hopscotch the islands, anyone?
The Outer Hebrides is a flat and narrow string of islands, forming a natural breakwater against the Atlantic. On the west side the Atantic rolls in with huge breakers, on the east side the sea is calm and well suited for flatbottomed ferrys connecting the entire chain of islands.
Our intention this time was to explore movement, so we decided to move as far west and north as ferries would take us. We hopscotched by car, ferry and foot on islands like Barra, Vatersay, the Uists and up to Lewis and Harris.
The Outer Hebrides are hard to get to, but easy to travel in - friendly people, few cars, lots of ancient and modern history walking hand in hand. And the sound of the wind rustling and a low, stunning sky.
Arctic Wool, 2006
Gathering artic wool?
Spitsbergen is the borderland of our deams. We spent three days getting the know the land and the people and came away richer for it.
Høstens installasjon tar oss langt nordover - tre hektiske dager på Spitsbergen med base i Longyearbyen. Lyset, himlene og naturen her åpnet øyene våre for nye måter å lolke og skildre Europas ytterpunkter.
Koster, 2006
Annica eksperimenterer med digital hullkamerateknikk på en todagers reise til Kosterøyene i april 2006.
Blue Marble, 2005
Blue Marble - Roma (2006) Tilbake til Roma. Der himmelen møter jorden og solen brenner så hett at det er vanskelig å holde seg fokusert på oppgaven. Men "blue marble" ropte på oss og vi tømte ølglasset og vandret videre.
White Noise, 2004
Vestkanten av Europa. Ukjent reisemål. Et perfekt sted å forske på tesen om at "bilderfinnes overalt". Vi tilbrakte 5 dager i Lisboa og ble kjent med et helt spesielt sted.
Bowtie, 2003
Sluttstasjon for Orientekspressen. En del av oss vi aldri kan forstå. Orienten som vil inn, som vi vil ha inn, men bare om de ligner oss litt mer.
Istanbul 2004
Gottagoback, 2002
Gottagoback was our second deadline art project. We went to Ireland and explored the entire country to to a soundtrack of Pogues and Van Morrison. Great company to discover an alternative future with. We created during the day on polaroid, digital, 35 mm film, half format and processed, scanned and printed during the night. And talked and talked and talked.
Towards the end of our journey we created am interactive solution in Flash that unfortunately is depreciated now.
Betenkningstid, 2002
Billed- og tekstfortelling i ti deler om tid og identitet på oppdrag fra Miljøverndepartementets aksjon 070605.com publisert i juni 2002
Danger Key, 2001
Our first online project took us to Dresden in search of the visual meaning of Paal-Helge Haugens great poem «Danger Key». We traveled through the old iron curtain and ended up in Dresden where most of the action went down.
Here is a small text extract (in Norwegian) of the text that launched the project. Enjoy:
Et lite smil spilte om munnen på agenten med det smale ansiktet da han åpnet den falske bunnen i kofferten og tok opp Lugeren og dolken. Klokken var ni på kvelden, han hadde dusjet og skiftet. Jobben for CIA het Prop B, men Hawk kalte den gjerne Yellow Peril. All right for ham.
Hun smilte i det svakt opplyse rommet. Tennene hennes var små og hvite. Han gav henne drinken og en av de lange gulltippede sigarttene han røykte. Hun inhalerte dypt og blåste røyken ut av neseborene mens hun klemte om glasset med små myke hender. Hun snuste på konjakken. Så vred hun minkjakken av seg og lot den falle på gulvet ved siden av stolen. Brystene kom til syne. De var forbausende store og faste.
Han kjente det luktet ungpike av henne bak den tunge parfymen.
The front page of mentalpropell.com presenting "Tid til Tid"
Tid Til Tid, 2001
Interaktivt tidsfristprosjekt, også kalt deadline art, med fjorten bilder og tekster over temaet tid, skapt og publisert over like mange dager.
Hovedfagsoppgave ved Statens kunst- og håndverksskole 2001, publisert daglig iperioden
17. til 31. november 2001.