"On Love and Tuberculosis" is a story about our most important life force and our most frightening enemy. It is the privilege of art and storytelling to bring together two such stark opposites.
On Boxing Day 1985, the narrator takes the train from Stavanger into the forest, the snow, and the wilderness for his first meeting with a possible future mother-in-law. He goes voluntarily and is as healthy as a horse. He has not been forcibly sent to a sanatorium, as so many others were during the brutal fight against the white plague.
In January 1741, Vesle-Jørgen becomes the priest of Evje. His lungs rattle and wheeze, yet he captivates his audience. But on Palm Sunday, something happens that changes everything.
On Friday, 24 March 1882, the German physician Robert Koch announces that he has discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis – the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. At last, the enemy had a face. But it would take many years before the battle was won.
One day in May 1936, Marianne patiently waits for the painful cough that means Konrad has woken up. The doctor’s instructions are crystal clear. Only Marianne is allowed to accompany Konrad on his final journey. But Konrad has no intention of dying in bed.
In 2020, Covid strikes. Is this the new plague? And the girl with the braids and the blue anorak – is she still part of the story?
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Ivar Nygaard is a cultural historian, storyteller, and visual artist. "On Love and Tuberculosis" is the second part of his contribution to the art project "Over heia" at Landeskogen Art Sanatorium. Part 1 is an installation in the group exhibition in the summer of 2026.