Tulle Ruth lives and works in Norway. Her practice can be described as sculpture in a very broad sense. She has her artistic training from Sweden, Norway, Canada, and Denmark and has exhibited in many parts of Norway and abroad.
Her sculptures are often mobile and located at more or less unknown sites in public spaces, along the highway or in rural areas and nature. Out from personal, domestic, and everyday life, Tulle Ruth asks questions about communication and existence in the society surrounding her.
Her artistic platform was shaped through the extended project Speaking Mountains, which enabled the seven famous mountains surrounding Bergen to speak and create stories. Later follows the Wind Powered Street Organ playing contemporary music as the wind blows. In an investigating and experimenting manner, “high and low” techniques are integrated, performative ingredients are often added, and not seldom the art pieces carry a humorous twist.
Outdoors Tulle Ruth always produces her own electricity from solar panels and/or wind turbines and is completely off-grid. Her latest show, “TRACKS”, is a search and investigation into a particular «clicking» sound that the reindeer make with the lower hind legs as part of their communication system. The project touches scientific methods and reasoning and is enabled through collaboration with the indigenous Sami people at Gråebrie Sijti by Røros. The research and artistic methods used are sound recordings, observations, literature, and conversations with the Sami about their cultural wisdom, knowledge and experiences with the reindeer and landscape. “TRACKS” is mostly shown outdoors with a 16-track sound piece placed in a circle with the sound composition coming from the underground. The sound can be felt as vibration under one’s shoes and by touch and heard when listening carefully.
In 2013 Tulle Ruth started the gallery “Drive In of Sound Art” located at different sites along the highway. Any passing car driver can place the vehicle next to the gallery, open the window and listen to a selection of contemporary sound artists. Since 2013, the project has expanded and presented more than fifty professional sound artists in the Nordic countries. In 2023, the 10th anniversary is celebrated by UrbanSoundArt, and the “Drive In of Sound Art” transformed into “Sail In of Sound Art”.
Changes on Northern Shores - Observing Problems through Art and Science 