Plastic in modern Norway

The theme of the exhibition is the production and use of plastic in a historical perspective. Here you can see machines that have made plastic products for industry, household and clothing.

The objects on display are in various plastic materials. Bakelite telephones and sockets from the interwar period are displayed alongside clothing, furniture and synthetic plastic packaging that became common after the Second World War.

Plastic is part of our everyday culture. The material symbolizes the inauthentic and cheap and the use-and-throw-away mentality of the time. Without a doubt, the plastic has contributed to the ever-growing garbage mountain. Today, much attention is attached to recycling and environmental issues. But plastic has also contributed to making society more democratic by making consumer goods cheaper.

In the exhibition you will find, among other things:

Plastic boat Skibsplast 1957

The first Norwegian plastic boat was produced in 1953. Four years later, the 19-year-old cabinetmaker Roald Skibsrud made his first plastic boat. He founded the company Skibsplast which made cheap and popular boats for the leisure market. The plastic boats are light and maintenance-free and have almost out-competed the previous wooden boats.

Bakelite press 1930

Items made of Bakelite are made by heating, molding and pressing the plastic material. This machine was operated by hand. The press was used at Norsk Teknisk Porselensfabrik in Fredrikstad, which was the country's first bakelite producer. Among other things, travel cups were made on this machine.

Shell chair Pop-Corn 1968

The chair was designed by Sven Ivar-Dysthe for the Henie-Onstad Art Center at Høvikodden in 1967-68. The rough plastic chair can be seen in the context of the pop art that was popular in the sixties. The chair was produced at Møre Lenestolfabrikk and Westnofa AS in Sykkylven, a center for Norwegian furniture production. The chair is on loan from the Henie-Onstad Art Centre.