Troll wonders how old he is - Trollet som grunner på hvor gammelt det er, 1911

Editor: This watercolor by Theodor Kittelsen, "Troll wonders how old he is," created in 1911, is really striking. There’s such a sense of melancholy and introspection in this image of a giant, mossy troll lost in thought. What do you see in this piece beyond the surface level of folklore? Curator: I see a potent commentary on the anxieties of modernity and alienation. Kittelsen was working at a time of rapid social and technological change in Norway. Consider the troll, this ancient, mythical being, grappling with his own age – it reflects a deeper unease about identity in a rapidly changing world. Do you see how the romanticism in landscape merges into symbolism that can apply to gender, race, class or any system of categories? Editor: I hadn’t really considered that! It does make sense. The troll, burdened with age, almost represents a forgotten history or identity. Curator: Exactly. And it is a romanticised identity at that. Note that the natural world of Norway and the place of identity as both subject and citizen became particularly intense at that historical moment in Norway, leading to its independence. Consider the relationship to land in indigenous cultures and ask yourself what "progress" means to an ancient being. How does progress become entangled with the anxiety and perhaps the obsolescence of the racialized "other"? The "savage" etc. This invites us to reflect on our current moment, the exploitation of land, environmental destruction, and a parallel erosion of indigenous cultures and their knowledge. Editor: That really gives me a lot to consider about the political dimensions within fantasy art that I wouldn't have considered on my own! Thanks for sharing that lens with me. Curator: It has been my pleasure! Thinking about Kittelsen through the framework of history, environmentalism, identity and folklore encourages us to continuously learn from it.