A Combustible Grammar

In 1960, the Musée Royal du Congo Belge in Belgium, published The Glossopteris Flora of the Belgian Congo. Co-authored by two palaeobotanists, Norwegian Ove Arbo Høeg and Indian Mahendra Nath Bose, the book is a comprehensive study of this prehistoric plant, commonly known as the tongue fern (glossa meaning tongue, pteris meaning fern). The plant which became extinct around 252 million years ago can be extracted as coal.

At the turn of the 20th century, as the development of steam-powered riverboats and freight trains made previously hard-to-access land extractable, experts and opportunists alike from the Nordic countries became involved in the coal-fed, navigational infrastructure of the Congo River.

Taking The Glossopteris Flora of the Belgian Congo as a historical and material point of departure, Ina Hagen's A Combustible Grammar (2026) examines Norway's colonial past and present in light of the burning of fossil fuels and how humanity's relentless drive for knowledge about the natural world, through geological exploration, scientific experimentation and technological advancement, has so often led to exploitation that leaves destruction and depletion in its wake.

Starting from the philosopher Michael Marder's concept of pyropolitics and that we are currently living in the pyrocene – the age of fire – the exhibition is oriented around a series of metaphorical images – among others an eternal flame, a sundial and a wax candle simultaneously burning at both ends.

The exhibition includes the sculpture TAIL by Jessica Warboys.

Sound score by Morten Norbye Halvorsen.

A Combustible Grammar is Hagen's first solo exhibition in Bergen. In addition to the show at Aldea, there will be a conversation at Bergen Kjøtt, as well as a live event/reading at Bergen School of Architecture.

On A Combustible Grammar: a conversation with Ina Hagen, Marjam Idriss and Jade Meili Barget. Friday 6 November at 13:00, Bergen Kjøtt, Skutevikstorget 1. Live event / reading. Friday 20 November at 19:00, BAS, Bergen School of Architecture, Sandviksboder 59–61a.

---

Ina Hagen is an artist and writer based in Oslo. Her artistic practice spans video and digital media, text and printed matter, collective making practices and pedagogical forms. Her work has been shown at, among others, Bergen Kunsthall; Kunstnerforbundet; MOMENTUM - Nordic Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moss and Index, Stockholm. In 2025, she was a GRASS Fellow at the Baltic Art Center and the University of Uppsala, and has been awarded residencies at WIELS Contemporary Art Center, Brussels; Hangar–Centro de Investigação Artistica, Lisbon; IASPIS, Stockholm, and Capacete, Rio de Janeiro. Hagen holds a BFA from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts and participated in the Maumaus Independent Study Programme in Lisbon.

---

A Combustible Grammar is the continuation of research conducted during the artist's residencies at WIELS Contemporary Art Center, supported by Office for Contemporary Art Norway; Uppsala University, facilitated and funded by Baltic Art Center; Live Studio and Skulkeskolen program, Bergen Kunsthall (2025-26).

A Combustible Grammar is produced by Volt in collaboration with Aldea. It has received funding from Norwegian Visual Artists Fund.

Thanks to BAS, Bergen Kjøtt, Bergen Kunsthall and BEK.

Technical team
Producer: Gabriel Kvendseth
AV producer: Arne Skaug Olsen
Technical assistants: Ahmed Palijo, Timoté Jacquot, Laura Sovova and Patrick Murray

Volt's programme in 2026 has received funding from Arts Council Norway and the City of Bergen.

Volt is a longterm curatorial initiative founded in Bergen in 2008 by Marie Nerland. Volt commissions and presents new contemporary art projects with a focus on artists working across several media and modes of expression. Volt is nomadic and finds suitable locations for each project. Past projects have taken the form of exhibitions, timebased media, performances, discursive projects and sound art.