title:
Sleepy troll 
(live-action, choreographic score & installation)
6.6.25 - 15.6.25 graduation exhibition of MFA Medium and Material-based art and MFA Art and Public Space. Curated by Nikhil Vettukattil and Lesia Vasylchenko https://khio.no/events/2112

Sleepy Troll is a performance in which a group of mothers carry out a choreographic score. They arrive, each with their child (aged 0-3) in a stroller. As the first action, every mother picks up a small rocking device–the “Sleepy Troll”-and mounts it on their stroller. The piece reflects on the everyday rituals surrounding infant sleep and how caregiving bodies move through and adapt to public and institutional spaces. Sleepy Troll is a site-sensitive response to KHIO, highlighting the institutional gaps in childcare support within the building.




Participants: mothers with their children and strollers
Length: 30 minutes
Structure: 6 actions
Duration: 5 minutes per action
Site: Oslo National Academy of the Arts, around the main building.
Intro: Enter Seilduken 2, attach a Sleepy Troll to your stroller, go outside, look for companions

Collective rocking: Collectively following and finding a rhythm of rocking with strollers. Allow the movement to settle into repetition and flow. Then, introduce moments that break or contrast the leading tempo: pause, accelerate, reverse, or shift direction

Sigrid Marie Kittelsaa Vesaas and Bo, Catharina Vehre Gresslien and Live, Andrea Csaszni Rygh and Sixten, Anna Einemo Frøysland and Åsmund, Åsne Storli and Agnes, Ingvild Mæhle Skjøtskift and Julian are the performing mothers and their children, in the exhibition “Bli noe annet” 6. - 15. june, 2025.

︎︎︎ VIDEO ︎︎︎

Watching a small body fall asleep is a tiny drama of resistance, protest, and ultimate surrender. To facilitate that transition, parents create temporary sanctuaries — dimming the phone's light, draping a scarf over a stroller, pacing the edge of a supermarket aisle — shaping zones of calm in whatever public space they occupy. Sleepy Troll turns that solitary effort into a collective act: the rocking motion spreads through the group, allowing caregivers to share the space and recognize the quiet choreography that parenthood scripts into daily life.










This piece is part of Katja’s ongoing master’s project, which centers on motherhood, care practices, accessibility, and imagined futures.
Across different formats, she explores how challenges can be transformed into artistic material.
Her master's project also includes:
Homeground (exhibited at Gamle Munch 2025)  Antiloop (exhibited in the auditorium, Khio)