Black and white archival pigment print photographs behind tinted framed glass

The project relates to the intricate relationship between ancient Greek marble sculpture and colour. Despite the sculptures polychrome origin, the white marble surface is intrinsically linked to the reception of sculptures from the period.

The photographs are of canonized, ancient Greek and Roman sculptures from The Glyptothek in Munich and the Vatican Museum in Rome. They are juxtaposed wit marble sculptures commissioned by Mussolini in the 1940s. In an attempt to link artistic ties between the fascist party and the grandeur of the Roman Empire, they invoke one of its most emblematic symbols: white marble sculptures. Even though it was since long known that antique sculpture initially was polychrome.

In the photographic work, the lost colours are re-instated. The framed glass is tinted with colours from conservational research on antique sculpture, like a veil through which the black-and-white photographs are presented.

Parts of the series has been shown at the photo triennial "New Visions" at the Henie Onstad Art Centre (2020) where Gleditsch was one of five Norwegian photographers in the selection of 31 artists in the exhibition.

Part of the series is in the collection of the Henie Onstad Art Centre and KORO.