Temporary exhibition: BIRD CLIFF by Vigdis Fjellheim

An opening event in Norwegian will be held on Friday 25 September

Over the last fifty years, eight out of ten seabirds have disappeared from Norway’s bird cliffs. In 2026/2027, visual artist Vigdis Fjellheim presents the art project BIRD CLIFF in the exhibitions “Nature in Distress” and “Norwegian Animals” in Robert Collett’s House at the Natural History Museum.

Through artworks ranging from charcoal and dry pastel drawings to plexiglass paintings and installations, she examines nature loss and the relationship between presence and absence, based on the decline in seabird populations.

The concrete starting point for the project is the large habitat diorama “Bird Cliff,” which can be found at the museum. Fjellheim often works with how nature is seen, classified, and turned into knowledge. The visual language of the natural sciences and natural history museums is a recurring source of inspiration in her artistic practice. Over the past three years, Fjellheim has conducted studies in the museum’s rich bird collection.

The works in the exhibition can function both as a tribute to nature and as a reflection on nature loss. How can we give form to what we do not know, or to what is on the verge of disappearing?

For more information or to purchase artworks, please contact the artist directly: www.vigdisfjellheim.no

AboutVigdis Fjellheim

Vigdis Fjellheim (b. 1975, Switzerland) is an established Norwegian visual artist who works with painting, drawing, wall painting, installation, and art in public spaces.

Collections of photographs and objects serve as a starting point for the different art projects, which often consist of large series of paintings and drawings. She is interested in how we, throughout history, have viewed, collected, classified, and represented nature. Her work is process-driven, and she works with the collected material in ways that explore our urge to categorize the world around us. The aesthetics of the natural sciences and natural history museums are often a source of inspiration in her art projects.

Fjellheim lives and works in Oslo and graduated from the art academies in Oslo and Bergen in 2001. Her works have been shown in a number of group and solo exhibitions, including at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter and the Association of Norwegian Painters (LNM). She has carried out a long series of art projects in public spaces at schools, kindergartens, nursing homes, universities, and prisons, commissioned by, among others, KORO and the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Most of these have been executed as large-scale wall paintings.

Practical information

• The exhibition opens on 25 September 2026 18:30 PM, and is located in Robert Collett’s House on the 1st floor, among the exhibitions “Nature in Distress” and “Norwegian Animals.”
• Open 10:00–17:00 every day (closed on Mondays from 12 October).
• The exhibition is accessible for wheelchair users.

The exhibition is supported by Oslo Municipality and the Sparebank Foundation.