Jenny Berger Myhre is a multidisciplinary artist working with sound, video and photography, exploring and exposing the personal in an honest and curious manner. Jenny also curates F/eks (https://www.facebook.com/Feksoslo/), a concert series for electronic music and experimental pop, and has received the Norwegian Arts Council’s work grant for young artists no fewer than three times. You can read much more about what she does on her website (https://www.jennybm.com/).
We were thrilled to host Jenny as part of our Artist@IMV series in April 2026.
Can you summarize your experience at IMV? What did you work on and with whom?
During my time as Artist@IMV, I was working on the composition of “Writing in Water, Singing the Clouds”, commissioned by Nuts and Bolts. It is a piece of music written specifically for a new pipe organ instrument that I assembled and built, using found materials and pipes.
Whilst at IMV, I designed and assembled this instrument, and composed the music through exploring the tonal possibilities of the organ pipes. Using a CPAP machine and ball valves, I could control the air flow to each pipe separately, creating chords, combination tones and beatings.
What facilities and equipment did you use and which were your favorites? How did the academic environment at IMV influence your work?
I recorded my instrument in IMV’s sound studio, and mixed some of these recordings in the mixing studio. Both of these rooms are wonderful, and such a treat for the students. I really love the outboard gear at IMV — the analog pre-amps and compressors, and especially the Thermionic Culture and Universal Audio pre-amps. Also the magnificent Culture Vulture tube distortion, it has such a warmth, and adds a lot of beautiful resonances and harmonic distortion and crunch.
I also loved stopping by the little book swap / mini library section in the stairway. The academic environment at IMV encouraged me to do more research into my own project, as well as open me up to the idea of this project as an academic proposal for an MA in the future.
What was your favorite part of being a visiting artist at IMV?
My favourite part of being a visiting artist at IMV was meeting new people: the other visiting artist and the staff. It was lovely to have lunch together! As a freelance artist, I often spend long days alone in the studio, so this was a great occasion to get some new perspectives and also just a friendly and social space to take breaks between work hours. And of course, I also loved using the amazing studios!
Artist@IMV
Artist@IMV is a series of artist talks hosted at the Department of Musicology, University of Oslo. In the series, visiting musicians and artists working with sounds talk about their practice, and show some of their work. The presentation by the artist is followed by an open roundtable discussion with the audience, discussing the artist's work and the themes they present.