Tender Endings is an exhibition by Stavanger artist Anette Gellein. The exhibition brings together films, lighting, and film props. The works explore desire, power, violence, gender, and freedom.
The exhibition includes three main films:
Love and Greed and Pain and Lust is about love, desire, control, and violence.
Dyke Dreams explores queer desire, bodies, machines, oil, and destruction.
Annus Horribilis tells the story of a fictional monarchy that falls apart. The film explores grief, revolution, and freedom.
The exhibition also includes the short film My Dog Home Movie, which explores intimacy and control in romantic relationships.
Gellein uses horror, fantasy, drama, and sex to explore power in relationships and society. Their films are set in and around Stavanger. They reflect on the region’s oil wealth, social inequality, and conservatism.
The films are shown as part of one shared environment. The galleries are designed like a dream or a theatre set. Visitors can move through the exhibition and experience
the works in different ways. For Gellein, an ending can also be a beginning. The end of a relationship, identity, or system can create space for something new.
The exhibition asks: What can we create after something is destroyed?
Bio
Anette Gellein (b. 1995, Sola, Norway) is a ground-breaking voice in the Norwegian art scene, particularly within the genres of film, performance, and print media.
Their practice revolves around themes of power, politics, sexuality, gender, and emotion. Drawing inspiration from camp and horror, German Expressionism, avant-garde cinema, and queer politics, they create visual poems that reveal emotional landscapes.
Gellein holds a BA from Nordland School of Arts and Film and an MA from Glasgow School of Art. Their work has been shown at Kunsthall Oslo, Tromsø Kunstforening, Galleri Opdahl, Atelier Nord, TENT Rotterdam, Lydgalleriet in Bergen, and the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers in Toronto. Gellein has participated in film festivals including the Oberhausen Film Festival, Oslo Pix, and the Arctic Moving Image & Film Festival (AMIFF).
Gellein is currently based in Stavanger, Norway. In recognition of their contributions to the arts, they were named ‘Årets Stavangerkunstner’ in 2025.
Curator and Exhibition text: Heather Jones
Exhibition technicians: Matt Bryans, Frank Åsnes and Hanna Mundal
Production support: Marisa Molin
Volunteers: Krysia Ofierska, Clara Siborro, Olaug Galland
The exhibition is supported by Bergesenstiftelsen.
The publication is supported by Kulturrådet and Stavanger Kommune.