sum, fueram, fiam, unus et idem

‘Sum, fueram, fiam, sum Dassius, unis et idem’ (I am, have always been and will always be Petter Dass), is a quote from a Norwegian Lutheran priest and the foremost poet of his generation. (ca.1647 -1707). He wrote both baroque hymns and topographical poetry. The series of woodcuts was made for an exhibition at Petter Dass Musum. By omitting the name in the original quote, the artist generalizes the quote to an existential musing of what constitutes a person’s sense of self – as an inescapable fact or fluid construct.