Iter Subterraneum
Exhibition Opening
20:00
The exhibition “Iter Subterraneum” draws inspiration from Ludvig Holberg’s novel Niels Klims reise til den underjordiske verden (Niels Klim’s Underground Travels, 1741), often regarded as the Nordic region’s first science fiction novel. Through the story of a man who falls through a hole in Mount Fløyen in Bergen and discovers a society governed by thinking trees, the Enlightenment’s belief in science blends with fantasy and satire. In Holberg’s universe, the trees possess both morals and reason, and the novel can today be viewed as an early exploration of ecological and utopian ideas—a world where growth, branching, and coexistence challenge humanity’s notion of its own superiority.
The exhibition title “Iter Subterraneum” refers to Holberg’s original Latin title and hints at a descent into the earth’s layers and the subconscious mind.
