Erskine + Stein, VIRIDIS VERITAS, Trailer, USA / NO, 2025, 1 min 5 sec.

VIRIDIS VERTITAS [GREEN TRUTH] imagines 12th century Abbess, Baugeid Dagsdatter who ruled Klosteroya Island, Norway and surrounding farmlands as a successful herbalist, healer, tradeswoman, quiet resister and visionary prophet. Filmed on location, it is both a re-creation of the medieval legend and a view of the current landscape. Although no traces remain, we interacted in the abbey’s setting and felt its influence in herbal flowers, old walls and the midnight sun. VIRIDIS VERITAS begins with the parents of Baugeid sending their young daughter (marionette) to Gimsøy Abbey and imagines healers traversing their sanctuary island in walking meditation; collecting and sharing medicinal herbs, and contemplating peace.

VIRIDIS VERITAS was filmed in Skien, Telemark, Norway during IGUANA Collaborative’s residency hosted by NORA Dans Company in June 2024. The locations in the video are imagined places where medieval 12th century Gimsøy Abbey was historically situated; including the banks of Klosterøya Island, Spiriten Kunsthall (Spirit Art Hall), Århus gård (Arhus Garden and Farm), the Skien sluice, and a nearby post-industrial tunnel.