Ida Ekblad MarIus Engh anawana haloba lars lauMann - Statoil

DEVILS, WEREWOLVES
AND OTHER MYTHS
How can you explain – to a boy emotionally in love with his
skateboard – the fascination of archaeology, the interest and
passion in something ancient and archaic hidden under the
dust (like the essential piece in a mosaic) which represents a
slice of history? Curiously, the boy in love with slalom, downhill,
freestyle and “ollies” may even become passionate about the
mystery of digging up the past. In that event, you should just
stand back and attentively watch the evolution of an articulate
personality when driven by his unusual passions.
The archaeology of form: the idea implied in the various
objects around us; the time that gives places their spirit; the
history that defines our course and destiny – these make up the
concept of archaeology that Marius Engh reveals to us in his work.
Engh uses two expressive media in particular to communicate
his ideas: photography and sculpture. These two expressive
channels summarise different stages in his research: Engh
speaks to us about history, anthropology, modernism and social
semiotics. We should imagine the artist as an expert on times
past, seeking traces and details that manage to reconstruct a
broader picture of complex human experience, moving among
the signs that civilisation has left over time and the meanings
given to objects and places throughout their history.
Engh uses photography to provide an additional viewpoint
to our customary visual exploration of the world around us. His
different perspective makes it possible for us to discover folds
in the cultural landscape that conceal the details needed to give
observers pause for thought about their surroundings.
The Lead, Follow or Get the Hell Out of the Way photographic
series – 14 images depicting details of the Teufelsberg (Devil’s Hill)
in suburban Berlin – focuses on fragments of a history charged
with meanings of an almost excessive emotive impact. Engh’s
interest focuses precisely on the capacity that Teufelsberg has
had to accumulate historic significance by virtue of the various
episodes directly involved in its creation.
Teufelsberg is an artificial hill standing in a location intended
for a grandiose project – the new Berlin Technical University –
designed by the Third Reich’s foremost architect, Albert Speer.
The project, however, saw the development of only one faculty
in the entire complex that, according to the Nazi architect’s
theory of the “value of ruins”, would retain its dignity as a
monumental construction – leaving behind an indelible mark
of its greatness – even after its destruction. At the end of the
Second World War, various attempts were made to demolish
this Nazi building – its foundation stone was laid by Adolf Hitler
in 1937 – but, when this objective was not achieved, it was
decided to bury it under the remains of the more than 80,000
buildings in Berlin bombed by the Allies, thereby artificially
creating one of the highest points in the city. As if this were not
enough, during the Cold War the Americans decided to locate
the NSA listening station on “Devil’s Hill”.