A detailed examination of the Regional State Archives in Bergen unveils several glimpses into the life of an individual known as Fredrik Osthoff. Who was he, and what remained of him?
The Hodge Conjecture attempts to mobilise the archive as a foundation for building a bridge to connect the factual to the fictive. It probes what archive in the modern age is and what it can do.
The film borrows its name from a major unsolved problem in algebraic geometry:
"In simple terms, the Hodge conjecture asserts that the basic topological information like the number of holes in certain geometric spaces, complex algebraic varieties, can be understood by studying the possible nice shapes sitting inside those spaces, which look like zero sets of polynomial equations."
What I suggest here is the similarity between the state of the archive in the 21st century and the unsolved Hodge conjecture. similar to the mathematical case, the archive is dealing with topological questions that are very much unsolved. I ask: what role does the archive take in contemporary society, particularly within the grasp of advanced technology? In an era where the minutiae of our lives can be instantly captured within SD cards, and where governmental surveillance gazes through unceasingly vigilant cameras, does the traditional archive room retain its significance? I argue that Archive, in the modern sense might not be able to hold on to its traditional function, but it can still tell stories.
The Hodge Conjecture is the beginning of a series of visual attempts that tend to find function for a seemingly function-less entity.
The Hodge Conjecture attempts to mobilise the archive as a foundation for building a bridge to connect the factual to the fictive. It probes what archive in the modern age is and what it can do.
The film borrows its name from a major unsolved problem in algebraic geometry:
"In simple terms, the Hodge conjecture asserts that the basic topological information like the number of holes in certain geometric spaces, complex algebraic varieties, can be understood by studying the possible nice shapes sitting inside those spaces, which look like zero sets of polynomial equations."
What I suggest here is the similarity between the state of the archive in the 21st century and the unsolved Hodge conjecture. similar to the mathematical case, the archive is dealing with topological questions that are very much unsolved. I ask: what role does the archive take in contemporary society, particularly within the grasp of advanced technology? In an era where the minutiae of our lives can be instantly captured within SD cards, and where governmental surveillance gazes through unceasingly vigilant cameras, does the traditional archive room retain its significance? I argue that Archive, in the modern sense might not be able to hold on to its traditional function, but it can still tell stories.
The Hodge Conjecture is the beginning of a series of visual attempts that tend to find function for a seemingly function-less entity.
Production year: 2023
Roles: Director, Writer
Runtime: 00:13:56
Roles: Director, Writer
Runtime: 00:13:56
