2008

Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art



12.01 - 27.01


Monumento Mori
deals with issues related to monumental transformations: death, rebirth and metamorphosis.


Marte Johnsliens two works, Untitled (Pink) and Untitled (Blue) are photographs of eclectic pavillion architecture of Lusaka, Zambia. The pictures are presented as documentation of schizophrenic objects in a grey zome between sculpture and architecture. These objects can be viewed as a type of hybrids (elastic monuments), which has departed from the representation of imperialisms image of ´the other´, ending up as appropriated symbols of independent Zambia, thus ressurected as anti-monmuments; a negation of its former life.



Lina Viste Grønli presents The Conclusion which features Henry David Thoreau’s classic novel: Walden; or, Life in the Woods, with a number of discarded objects (buttons, coins etc.) implanted in the pages. The title refers to a kind of comprised, objectified version / reading of the novel, but speaks on a more spiritual, ideological level. The spesific objects (typical discards found in the woods or in pockets) implanted in the first chapter of the novel, Economy, also hint at a kind of ”alternative” currency / economy.



Anders Smebye includes the textile Hunter´s Funeral with a motive refering to Hunter S Thompsons funeral. The legendary writer committed sucide in 2005, and his last will was executed by shooting his ashes out in the stratosphere with the use of a cannon, followed by a spectacular display of fireworks. In addition Smebye has brought along a poster. Sculpture Kills Top Ten is a top-ten listing with real deaths caused by, with, or in the near proximity of sculptures.






Lars Laumann premiers the film La Reine Est Morte. The film portrays a drunken taxiride and decadent pilgrimage in Lady Di´s footsteps, from Hotel Ritz to the scene of the accident in the Point d´Alma tunnel, altogether accompanied to the tune of Morrisey´s The Queen is Dead. Laumann also shows the fanzine Morrisey Foretelling the Death of Diana which lists several conspiracy theories speculating whether Morrisey´s lyrics contained hidden predictions about Diana´s death. The handwriting used throughout Laumann´s fanzine is a font created by The Smith´s fans, based on Morrisey´s own handwriting.





Jan Bünnig and Simon Rühles installation piece Fountain of Youth is a mobile fountain consisting of a plastic pool, a pump and clay. The mud is the healing type used in beauty spas. The original fountain of youth was a baroque idea; an era obsessed with eternal life. Fear of death is a symbol of the human tragedy - our limited time, the weakness of the flesh and the end of the cycle. Fountain of Youth is a reminder that we will all become dirt again at some point.






2007



19.10 - 28.10

Tarje Gullaksen


Kul Shee Maku

The work Untitled ("It's always kul shee maku,
said Sgt Rob Hammer, a 32-year-old squad leader
from Kansas, reciting the Arabic phrase for
"there is nothing," which the entire platoon knows.)
consists of a white foil with cut-out letters
covering the windows in front of Bastard.

Inside the space Gullaksen shows six prints of
randomly chosen pages from Louis-Ferdinand Céline´s
book Guignol´s Band, magnified and emptied for words –
all that remains are different constellations of
ellipses (…)
The exaggerated use of ellipses and
the splintered sentences
in Celine´s book reflects
his own impotence and rage when
confronted with the
fragmented existence of experiences and memories.













Michael Johansson

Monolit

Johansson methodically constructs a 3.5 m tall monolith consisting of any kind of material, tools and artworks he can find rummaging through Bastard´s storage room and closets. The found objects and items are reset and transformed into elements of a monument.