Download the Catalogue PDF - Afgangs-undstillingen 2010

Det Fynske Kunstakademi
/ Funen Art Academy
Afgangsudstillingen
2010
Alen Aligrudić
Khaled Barakeh
Mikkel Teis
Line Elmstrøm Lund
Mie Lund Hansen
Mia Helmer
Tommy Thore Ipsen
Marie Irmgard
Phillip Drago Jørgensen
Michael Würtz Overbeck
Pelle Møller Schiødt

Indhold /
Contents
4 Forord
Preface
Lars Grambye, direktør/director,
Kunsthallen Brandts
6 Jeder ist ein Künstler
- Om at undervise i kunst, når alle er blevet kunstnere
- On teaching art when everyone has become an artist
Merete Jankowski, rektor/principal,
Det Fynske Kunstakademi/Funen Art Academy
10 Trangen til nærvær
Compulsion to proximity
Åse Løvgren & Karolin Tampere, RAKETT
Kuratorer/Curators, Afgangsudstillingen 2010
17 Kunstnerne
The Artists
149 Tak!
Thank You!

DK:
Forord
For andet år i træk præsenterer Kunsthallen Brandts afgangsudstillingen fra Det Fynske Kunstakademi. I år afgår
ikke færre end 11 kunstnere og de har sammen skabt en vellykket og helstøbt udstilling. Det har været en særlig
udfordring i år og betingelserne har været svære, men det er ikke desto mindre lykkes at indtage Kunsthallens rum
med friskproducerede værker, der sætter kursen for den nye, unge kunst.
Det ligger i afgangsudstillingens væsen, at den peger frem, at den viser, hvad der optager kunstmiljøet lige nu og
samtidig antyder, hvor kunsten vil bevæge sig hen i fremtiden. Og som det kunne ses på sidste års afgangsudstilling
folder kunsten sig også i år ud over forskelligartede medier, med særlig fokus på og interesse for video, installation
og maleri. For Kunsthallen Brandts er det en åbenlys og enestående chance for at kunne tilbyde de unge
kunstnere en kunstinstitutionel ramme for det foreløbige punktum i deres tid på akademiet og samtidig vise, hvor
kunsten befinder sig lige nu.
En stor tak skal rettes til Det Fynske Kunstakademi og ikke mindst til kunstnerne for udstillingen og kataloget. Også
tak til rektor Merete Jankowski for samarbejdet omkring udstillingen. Kunsthallen Brandts er meget glad for det
gode og inspirerende forhold mellem de to institutioner. Endelig en tak til kurator-teamet RAKETT for den gode dialog
med Kunsthallen Brandts. Og tak til Claus Due for layout af dette katalog og det engagerede samarbejde.
Lars Grambye,
direktør,
Kunsthallen Brandts
UK:
Preface
This is the second time that Kunsthallen Brandts presents the graduation show from the Funen Art Academy.
This year there are no less than eleven graduation students, and they have together created a successful and
well composed exhibition. There have been specific challenges this year and the work conditions have been hard,
but none the less has one succeeded in filling the exhibition room at Kunsthallen with newly produced works that
point out the direction for new, young art.
The graduation exhibition points to the future, this lies in its very nature. It shows what is going on in the art scene
right now, and how art will develop in the years to come. Like last year’s graduation show the works span over a
variety of media, with a focus on video, installation and painting. For Kunsthallen Brandts this is an obvious and
unique opportunity to offer the young artists an institutional frame for what is the preliminary conclusion to their
time at the Academy, and at the same time showcase where art is right now.
Many thanks to the Funen Art Academy and not the least to the artists for the exhibition and this catalogue. Also
a great thank you to rector Merete Jankowski for the collaboration concerning the exhibition. Kunsthallen Brandts
is very pleased with the good and inspirational relationship between the two institutions. Finally thank you to the
curators in RAKETT for the nice dialogue with Kunsthallen Brandts. And thank you to Claus Due for the design of
this catalogue and the engaging collaboration.
Lars Grambye,
director,
Kunsthallen Brandts

DK:
Jeder ist ein Künstler
− Om at undervise
i kunst, når alle er
blevet kunstnere
Merete Jankowski,
rektor, Det Fynske
Kunstakademi
”Billedkunstner” er ikke en beskyttet titel. Alle kan kalde
sig det – alene en hurtig google-søgning på ordet
vil føre den interesserede til tusindvis af hjemmesider
for danske kunstnere, hvis baggrund består i alt fra uddannelser
på verdens bedste kunstakademier til privat
glæde ved akvarel-maling. I 1972 proklamerede den
tyske kunstner Joseph Beuys, at ”Jeder ist ein Künstler”
- hvert menneske er en kunstner. Med et blik på tidens
dyrkelse af talentkonkurrencer, hvor amatørismen synes
at vække bredere begejstring end kunstarternes
professionelle udøvere, man må sige, at tiden har taget
Beuys’ slogan til sig i en grad, som den tyske pioner indenfor
konceptkunsten nok næppe havde forestillet sig.
Vejene til kunsten som levebrød kan være mange – for
Beuys selv gik den fra en ungdom tilbragt som højtdekoreret
kamppilot i det tyske Luftwaffe over krigsfangenskab
til en legendarisk periode som professor ved
kunstakademiet i Düsseldorf og efterfølgende kanonisering
i det 20. århundredes kunsthistorie – en vej, som
den unge mand nok næppe havde forestillet sig, da han
i 1944 marcherede mod Vestfronten. For den, der ikke
har sin daglige gang på et kunstakademi som vores,
kan det måske umiddelbart forekomme en smule altmodisch
som ungt menneske at dedikere hele fem år af sit
liv alene til at søge fordybelse i billedkunsten. Det er et
radikalt valg, et modigt valg – man vælger en fremtid,
som er usikker, økonomisk og socialt. Man vælger en
titel, som mange mennesker forbinder med hedonisme,
sorgløshed og pillen sig i sin egen navle – en titel, som
i tidens neo-liberale klima i høj grad klinger på kontanthjælp
og manglen på produktiv samfundsindsats.
Sandheden er selvfølgelig den, at ovennævnte opfattelse
af, hvad en kunstner er og gør, er helt utidssvarende
– billedet af kunstneren som den asociale
flamboyante boheme er svært at genkende, når man ser
på de unge kunstnere, som tager afgang fra Det Fynske
Kunstakademi i 2010. En del mennesker – deriblandt
en del i kunstens egne rækker - har stadig en forestilling
om, at det at gå på et kunstakademi handler om at lukke
verden ude for at søge kreativ isolation. At det handler
om fem år, hvor man kan boltre sig i et kunstnerisk
elfenbenstårn kun omgivet af ligesindede. Det gør det
ikke på Det Fynske Kunstakademi. Vi ser det som vores
fremmeste opgave at uddanne kunstnere, som via en
intensiv viden om billedkunstneriske virkemidler og netværk
er i stand til at producere værker, der går i dialog
med den samtid, som de lever i, og de mennesker, som
omgiver dem. Vi dyrker ikke forestillingen om kunstneren,
der har ophøjede geniale tanker på loftsværelset og
opfatter ikke kunst som et privat, men som et samfundsmæssigt
anliggende. Dette stiller store krav til de studerende
– vi kræver nemlig af dem, at de i deres værker
indtænker publikum. At de tænker over, hvad de vil med
deres værker, hvem skal de interessere? Hvad vil de fortælle
– og hvordan gør de det på den bedste måde?
I min optik ligger en central forskel mellem det at være
amatør og professionel på det kunstneriske felt i, hvorvidt
man interesserer sig for kunst som et rent privat
og personligt udtryk, eller hvorvidt man betragter kunst
som et sprog, et forskningsfelt. Dette betyder ikke,
at den professionelle kunst kun kan tage sociale eller
politiske ærinder op – så langt fra – men det betyder,
at vi på Det Fynske Kunstakademi vægter at bibringe
de studerende, hvordan de knytter bro mellem private
observationer og det samfund, som de lever og skal
agere i. God kunst handler nemlig altid om andet end
kunstnerens eget behov for at udtrykke sig, blive set
eller anerkendt – god kunst har til formål at åbne vores
øjne for den verden, som vi lever i.
I 2010 udgår 11 kunstnere fra Det Fynske Kunstakademi
– Alen Aligrudić, Khaled Barakeh, Mikkel Teis, Line
Elmstrøm Lund, Mie Lund Hansen, Mia Helmer, Tommy
Thore Ipsen, Marie Irmgard, Phillip Drago Jørgensen,
Michael Würtz Overbeck og Pelle Møller Schiødt. Jeg
vil gerne sige dem alle en varm tak for deres store arbejde
og dedikation i forbindelse med at producere en
fornem afgangsudstilling – ligeledes skal der lyde en
stor tak til RAKETT, Karolin Tampere og Åse Løvgren,
der som kuratorer på Afgangsutstillingen 2010 har lagt
en enorm flid og engagement i arbejdet med de studerende.
En stor tak til Kunsthallen Brandts for fantastisk
opbakning og generøsitet og i særdeleshed til Anna
Krogh, Lene Rechnagel, Arne Møller og kunsthallens
værksted for et rigtigt godt og inspirerende samarbejde
og tak til Sara Gjøde for at have fungeret som praktisk
tovholder. Sidst, men ikke mindst, en meget stor
tak til Augustinus Fonden, OAK Foundation, Statens
Kunstråd og Odense Kommune for at have muliggjort
Afgangsutstillingen 2010.

UK:
Jeder ist ein Künstler
− On teaching art when
everyone has become
an artist
Merete Jankowski,
Principal, Funen Art
Academy
”Visual artist” is not a protected title. Anyone can adopt
it – a quick Google search will take you to thousands of
homepages for artists whose backgrounds range from
having been educated at the best art academies in the
world to simply being fascinated by doing watercolour
paintings at home. In 1972, the German artist Joseph
Beuys proclaimed that ”Jeder ist ein Künstler”. Everyone is
an artist. Considering the fascination of our age with talent
shows and that amateurism presently seems to invoke
a wider fascination than the work of professional artists,
one has to say that time has turned Beuys’ slogan true in
a way that the German pioneer of conceptual art likely did
not imagine.
There are numerous ways of becoming an artist – Beuys
himself started off with a youth spent as a highly decorated
combat pilot in the German Luftwaffe, then became
a POW, but later ended up as a legendary professor at
the art academy of Düsseldorf, before finally being canonized
in the art history of the 20 th century. One can imagine
that the young Beuys did not foresee this outcome either
when he marched towards the Western Front in 1944.
To those who do not spend time regularly at an art academy,
it may seem a bit old-fashioned for a young person
to dedicate five years of his or her life solely to the study
of visual art. It is a radical choice, a brave choice – you
choose a future that is uncertain, financially and socially.
You choose a job title that many people associate with
hedonism, carelessness and self-absorption – a title that
to many in the Neo-Liberal climate of the day to many
seems to go hand in hand with dedicating oneself to a life
on social welfare and a lack of productive effort.
The truth is, of course, that this notion of what an artist is
and does is outdated. The notion of an artist as equalling
an anti-social flamboyant bohemian is difficult to
recognize when looking at the young artists who graduate
from Funen Academy of Fine Arts in 2010. Some people
– among them some who are engaged in the art world
themselves – still maintain a notion of that attending an
art academy means shutting out the rest of the world to
seek creativity in isolation. That it is all about spending five
years in an artistic ivory tower only surrounded by peers.
This is not what studying at Funen Academy of Fine Arts
is about. We see it as our most important task to educate
artists who with a thorough knowledge of visual artistic
practices and networks are able to produce works that
enter into a dialogue with the day and age the artists are
living in and the people who surround them. This means
that we expect a lot of our students – we demand that
that they consider the role of the audience in relation
to their works. That they consider why they produce the
works they do, what they want with them, who are they to
interest? What do they want to say – and how to do this
in the best way possible?
To my mind, a central difference between being an amateur
and a professional in the field of visual arts consists
of whether one is interested in art purely as a means of
private and personal expression or whether one sees art
as a language, a field of research. This does not mean
that professional art only addresses social or political
issues – far from it – but it does mean that we at Funen
Academy of Fine Arts put emphasis on teaching students
how to bridge their personal observations with the society
that they live and act in. Interesting art always reflects
something beyond the artist’s own need to express, be
seen or recognized – interesting art always aims at opening
our eyes to the world we are living in.
In 2010, eleven artists are graduating from Funen
Academy of Fine Arts – Alen Aligrudic´, Khaled Barakeh,
Mikkel Teis, Line Elmstrøm Lund, Mie Lund Hansen,
Mia Helmer, Tommy Thore Ipsen, Marie Irmgard, Phillip
Drago Jørgensen, Michael Würtz Overbeck and Pelle
Møller Schiødt. I would like to give warm thanks to all of
them for their efforts and dedication towards producing
a fine degree show. Likewise, I thank RAKETT, Karolin
Tampere and Åse Løvgren, curators of the graduation
show 2010, for the commitment they have shown in working
with the students.
Sincere thanks also to Kunsthallen Brandts for their
fantastic support and generosity and a special thanks to
Anna Krogh, Lene Rechnagel, Arne Møller and everyone
at the workshop of the kunsthalle for an inspiring collaboration.
Thanks also to Sara Gjøde for tying all of the loose
ends together. Last, but not least, a very warm thanks to
the Augustinus Foundation, the OAK Foundation, The
Danish Arts Council and the municipality of Odense for
having made the graduation show 2010 possible.

NO:
Trangen til nærvær
Men make their own history, but they do not make it
as they please; they do not make it under self-selected
circumstances, but under circumstances existing already,
given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all
dead generations weighs like an nightmare on the brains
of the living.- Karl Marx, Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis
Bonaparte (1852) 1
Når vi skriver denne teksten, har verden plutselig forandret
seg litt. Vulkanutbruddet under isbreen Eyjafjallajøkull har
satt stort sett alle flyene i Europa på bakken, og folk ligger
værfast. Vi klarer ikke helt å bestemme oss for om verden
er blitt mindre eller større i løpet av de siste dagene.
Vest- og Øst-Europa
I går var vi i kontakt med kunstnerne Lisbeth Bik og Jos
Van der Pol, som hadde vært med på en utstilling i Trondheim
i Norge sammen med andre kunstnere fra Europa.
Når det ene flyet etter det andre ble kansellert, måtte
arrangørene finne en måte å få deltakerne sine hjem på.
Siden alle vanlige tog og busser også var fulle, leide de
sine egne to busser. Den ene fikk påskriften Vest-Europa
og den andre Øst-Europa. Bik Van der Pol, som skulle
til Rotterdam, ble satt på samme buss som reisende til
Paris, mens kunstnere fra Beograd og Krakow delte den
andre bussen.
Det var noe deilig anakronistisk over denne konkrete todelingen
av Europa, der hver del hadde sin egne skjebne,
adskilt fra den andre. Man ble hensatt til en tid preget av
Warszawa-pakt og NATO som delte Europa i to adskilte
verdener med bestemte, binære identiteter. Verden føltes
plutselig så liten når store landområder med ett slag ble
representert på én buss. Uansett hvor man skulle i den
delen av verden, var alle i samme båt(buss).
Lang vei hjem fra Odense
Men samtidig ble verden også mye større. Avstanden
mellom de to nabolandene Danmark og Norge ble mer
fysisk forståelig når reisen måtte foregå over flere dager
ved hjelp av det som fantes av ledige transportmidler.
Den lange omveien hjem etter vårt besøk ved det Fynske
Kunstakademi innebar tog, overnatting og en lang fergetur.
John Urry er en sosiolog som tar for seg mobilitet og
skriver om hvordan bevegelse i økende grad preger våre
liv – både i form av fysiske reiser (engelskmenn reiser for
eksempel fem ganger så mye i dag enn på 50-tallet og 41
millioner mennesker er flyktninger eller internt fordrevne)
og i form av nye medier, for eksempel reiser i virtuelle
medier som han beskriver som «virtual travel often in real
time on the internet so transcending geographical and
social distance; as Microsoft asks: ‘where do you want to
go today?’» 3
I april, på vei til det Fynske Kunstakademiet, var Karolin
blitt stående igjen på flyplassen i Oslo der den ene flygningen
etter den andre ble kansellert. Senere måtte hun
trå til som reddende bilsjåfør for to av Samisk Kunstfestivals
strandede kunstnere som forsøkte å komme seg til
Oslo fra Trondheim (500 km). På ferga satt Åse på Skype
og samlet et lite hoff av kolleger som satt fast et eller annet
sted. Ettersom dagene gikk, var vi i kontakt med flere
og flere som satt fast. Seminarer ble avlyst, planer lagt
om. «The more people travel corporeally, the more that
they seem to connect in cyberspace.» 4 Disse menneskene
var i høy grad tilstede på Internett mens de ventet
eller var underveis på sin alternative reiserute (ofte på tog,
buss eller båt der Internett er tilgjengelig, i motsetning til
på flyreiser).
Urry spør hva som er den særegne kvaliteten ved å møte
noen ansikt til ansikt. Hvorfor reiser folk i timevis bare for
å møte andre? Hva er denne trangen til nærhet? Et møte i
cyberspace blir ofte ansett som mindre ekte og autentisk
enn et møte der man fysisk er i samme rom.
«Real life is seen to comprise enduring,
face-to-face, communitarian connections, while the
mobile world is made up of fragile, mobile, airy and
inchoate connections. Examining the consequences
of the various new technologies rests upon a series of
what are seen as overlapping and reinforcing dichotomies:
real/ unreal, face-to-face/ life on the screen,
immobile/ mobile, community/ virtual and presence/
absence.» 5
Urry mener at slike dikotomier ikke lenger er gyldige eller
konstruktive, og at vi bør kvitte oss med dem. Det er
mange gjensidig avhengige måter å knytte seg til eller
være i kontakt med andre mennesker, og disse forbindelsesmåtene
er en økende del av et mobilt liv.
Kunstens «her og nå»
Kunst kan sies å ha et «her og nå» ved seg som er viktig
for dens vesen, og det legges vekt på betrakterens
fysiske tilstedeværelse for den fulle opplevelsen av verket.
Vil denne oppfatningen forandre seg i en stadig mer mobil
verden? Er en opplevelse av kunst i kunstrommet mer
ekte eller autentisk enn opplevelse gjennom Internett eller
i en katalog? De stadig flere biennalene har basert seg på
at folk vil reise for å se kunst, og dermed har biennalene
fått en økonomisk basis som ligner en turistøkonomi. Vil
andre måter å oppleve kunst på måter som er tilpasset vår
mobile livsform bli vanligere?
Katalogen kan være en slik form, et slikt «rom», som innebærer
både nærhet og distanse samtidig. Den skaper et
eget rom mellom permene, samtidig som den på et eller
annet vis relaterer til utstillingens fysiske tilstedeværelse.
I arbeidet med denne katalogen har vi valgt å fokusere
på å skape et eget rom som danner en utstilling i seg
selv. Kunstnerne har selv valgt hvordan de vil bruke dette
rommet, noen har skrevet tekst selv, andre har fått noen
til å skrive for seg. Denne katalogen vil også finnes på
websidene til Det Fynske Kunstakademi der den fritt kan
lastes ned og skrives ut. Den får sitt eget liv og sin egen
mobilitet tilpasset en verden der møter mellom mennesker
antar forskjellige former og den fysiske mobiliteten både
kan bli vanskelig (i form av vulkanskyer) og være uetisk (i
form av økende forurensning).
You gotta move it, move it
Hva preger den type samfunn der mobilitet eller det
nomadiske er et sentralt element? Zygmunt Bauman
beskriver moderniteten som delt i to faser: solid fra begynnelsen
og flytende i løpet av de siste femti år. Bauman
mener at moderniteten fra begynnelsen har hatt som sitt
fremste prosjekt å forandre og modernisere verden. Den
solide moderniteten tror på en
«(…) fully rational perfect world, rationally
perfect, or perfectly rational. And what is perfection?
As Renaissance master builder Leo Battista Alberti
put it, «perfection is a state in which every change
could be only change to the worse». So a perfect state
is the state in which all change should grind to a halt,
because you can’t improve on it. During the period of
«solid modernity» the most powerful thinkers were
convinced that it was a matter of acquiring enough
information, enough knowledge, and enough technological
skills in order to achieve such a perfect world.
Change was seen as temporary until we construct a
world which won’t require further change.» 6
I løpet av de siste 50 årene har vi beveget oss bort fra
den solide moderniteten til det Bauman kaller «liquid
modernity», altså noe ustabilt som ikke beholder sin
form over et lengre tidsrom. Menneskene preges av det
nomadiske og en økt følelse av usikkerhet hvor en kan
skifte fra én sosial posisjon til en annen. Bauman sier at
dette er en revolusjonær forandring. Siden alt er i konstant
bevegelse, ser vi ikke lenger etter et perfekt mål, for dette
kan aldri nås. For det første vil det perfekte stadiet ikke
kunne opprettholdes. For det andre vil den underliggende
grunnen, altså premissene for det perfekte stadiet,
alltid være i bevegelse. Så det eneste permanente i vår
tilværelse er forandring. Dermed må vi finne fram til nye
måter å oppføre oss på og nye måter å ha kontakt på som
stemmer overens med den nye tilværelsen.
You are only as good as your last project
Baumans beskrivelse av livet i den flytende moderniteten
er en god oppsummering av et aktivt virke som kunstner,
et virke som konstant er usikkert med tanke på økonomi,
sikkerhet og kunstneriske fremskritt. I den flytende moderniteten
er det fleksible arbeidslivet med prosjektarbeid
blitt en konstant tilværelse, som en stat, by eller totalitet
av prosjekter «Cité par projets» 7 – ikke bare for kunstnere,
men kanskje spesielt for dem.
I denne tilværelsen kan det usikre med fordel heller beskrives
som bevegelse, der den beste fremgangsmåten er å
være som haien, som er i stadig bevegelse: Den dør hvis
den står stille.
«(…) living in a «liquid» modern world breaks
down into three conditions. We need to act under
the condition of first: uncertainty; second: under the
condition of continuous risk which we try to calculate
but which in principle is not fully calculable, as there
are always surprises; and third: we need to act under
the condition of shifting trust. A common trend which
was trustworthy today may become condemned and
rejected tomorrow. This is not only true in the field of
work but everywhere.» 8
I en flytende modernitet er det viktig å lære seg å lære,
ettersom det ikke finnes noe endelig punkt der du er
utlært eller noe ideelt mål som kan nås, noe som vel alltid
har vært en læreregel innenfor kunsten. Det er vanlig å si
at ethvert stort kunstverk må ha en liten feil (flaw); hadde
det vært perfekt, ville det vært kun det, og ikke et sterkt
kunstverk. I forordet skriver rektor Merete Jankowski litt
om hvordan en kan lære å bli kunstner, og at det ved det
Fynske Kunstakademi legges det vekt på en kommunikasjon
med samtiden. I en kommunikasjon med en skiftende
samtid er det viktig både å lære og å glemme hva en
har lært, samtidig. En må hele tiden starte forfra og stille
spørsmål ved hva en har og kan.
«Because there is never a point when you
can actually sit down quietly and say: «I have arrived, I
have done it, now I can just gather the cream of profit
from my previous efforts.» There is no such moment
of time. Learning is now a life-long process. And today
learning consists, above all, in the ability of changing

what you consider to be the true, the proper, the
usable, the effective knowledge.» 9
Denne katalogen vil på forskjellige måter gi en introduksjon
til 11 unge kunstnere som alle vil skape sine egne
historier og lage sine egne rom. I arbeidet med avgangsutstillingen
var det viktig for oss at kunstnerne selv fikk
definere sitt eget verk. Samtidig må en felles forståelse
være tilstede av at verk alltid er i bevegelse i møte med
både andre verk, andre rom og en skiftende samtid. Som
Karl Marx-sitatet i begynnelsen av denne teksten sier, vil
et skapende virke alltid finne sted innenfor en kontekst,
enten denne er som et tyngende mareritt fra tidligere generasjoner
eller noe stadig flytende der nedarvede idealer
blandes og redefineres. Det er viktig for en kunstner å
kunne manøvrere med slike bevegelser i tid, rom og kontekst.
I arbeidet med utstillingen har det derfor vært viktig
at vi i fellesskap lager et samhold innenfor en avgangsklasse
som i det siste året av utdannelsen naturligvis er
fokusert på å arbeide med sin egen individuelle produksjon.
Utstillingen og avgangsklassen danner således et
samfunn eller et kollektiv som beskrevet av Urry:
«(…) there is communion, a human association
that is characterised by close personal ties,
belongingness and warmth between its members.
[This] is what is conventionally meant by the idea of
‘community’ relationships.» 10
Som i historien om de vulkanskyreisende, kan ytre grenser
(som Vest-Europa) danne en felles indre identitet og nærhet.
Denne utstillingens vegger, denne katalogens permer
og den tiden som kunstnerne har delt ved Det Fynske
Kunstakademi, er den konteksten som de skaper sine
egne historier innenfor.
Åse Løvgren / Karolin
Tampere, Curators,
RAKETT
(Fodnoter) 1 / http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/
works/1852/18th-brumaire/ch01.htm. 2 / http://www.scribd.com/
doc/16443296/Tallverdens-flyktninger-og-internt-fordrevneFlyktningregnskapet-2009.
3 / John Urry, Mobility and Connections,
http://www.ville-en-mouvement.com/telechargement/040602/
mobility.pdf. 4 / Ibid. 5 / Ibid. 6 / Zygmund Bauman, forelesning
ved ANSE-conference 2004 i Leiden, http://anse.eu/html/history/2004%20Leiden/bauman%20englisch.pdf.
7 / Boltanski og
Chiapello, 1999. 8 / Bauman, op.cit. 9 / Ibid. 10 / Urry, op.cit.
UK:
Compulsion to proximity
Men make their own history, but they do not make it as
they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances,
but under circumstances existing already,
given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of
all dead generations weighs like an nightmare on the
brains of the living.- Karl Marx, Eighteenth Brumaire of
Louis Bonaparte (1852) 1
As we write this text, the world has suddenly gone
through a slight change. The eruption underneath the
Eyjafjallajøkull glacier has grounded almost all airplanes
in Europe, and people are stranded. Still we can’t really
decide if the world has become smaller or bigger during
the last days.
Western and Eastern Europe
Yesterday we were in touch with the artist duo Bik Van
der Pol, who had just participated in an exhibition in
Trondheim in Norway together with other European
artists. As one flight after the other got cancelled, the
organizers had to find alternative ways to get their artists
back home. All regular trains and buses were fully
booked, so they ended up rented two small buses.
One got the tag Western Europe and the other Eastern
Europe. Bik Van der Pol, who was going to Rotterdam,
thus shared bus with travelers to Calais and Paris, while
artists from Belgrade and Krakow shared the other.
There was something strangely anachronistic about this
concrete dividing of Europe, where the two parts shared
fates, cut off from the other. It was reminding of a time
when the Warsaw Pact and NATO divided Europe into
two worlds with their own pre-determined and opposite
identities. The world suddenly felt smaller, as large areas
in one stroke was represented on one single bus. No
matter where you were headed in that part of the world
you were all in the same boat (or bus).
Long way back home from Odense
At the same time the world also felt bigger. The distance
between the neighbouring countries of Denmark and
Norway became more physically understandable when
travelling took several days, depending on whatever
means of transport were available. The long way home
after our visit to the Funen Art Academy went by train,
then an overnight stay and a long ferry ride.
John Urry is a sociologist dealing with mobility, and he
writes about how mobility increasingly central to our
lives – both in terms of physical travels (for example,
Englishmen travel five times as much today than in the
1950s and 41 million people are refugees all over the
world 2 ) and in terms of new media, for example travels in
virtual media which he describes as «virtual travel often
in real time on the internet so transcending geographical
and social distance; as Microsoft asks: ‘where do you
want to go today?’» 3
In April, on her way to visit the Funen Art Academy,
Karolin was stuck at the airport in Oslo, seeing one
flight after the other get cancelled. Later she came to
rescue as a driver for two stranded artists from the Sami
Art Festival in Trondheim, trying to make their way to
Oslo from Trondheim (500km). On the ferry Åse was
on Skype, gathering a small crowd of colleagues who
were stuck someplace or another. As the days passed,
we were in touch with more and more people who were
stuck somewhere. Seminars got cancelled, plans remade.
«The more people travel corporeally, the more that
they seem to connect in cyberspace.»4 These people
were indeed present on the Internet while waiting, or
while travelling by alternative itineraries (the alternative
means of transportation were mostly trains, buses or
boats where Internet was available, unlike on planes).
Urry investigates the quality of meeting someone face
to face. Why do people travel for hours just to meet with
other people? What is this compulsion to proximity? A
meeting in cyberspace is often viewed upon as less real
or authentic than a meeting where you are physically in
the same room.
«Real life is seen to comprise enduring,
face-to-face, communitarian connections, while the
mobile world is made up of fragile, mobile, airy and
inchoate connections. Examining the consequences
of the various new technologies rests upon a series
of what are seen as overlapping and reinforcing
dichotomies: real/ unreal, face-to-face/ life on the
screen, immobile/ mobile, community/ virtual and
presence/ absence.» 5
Urry states that such dichotomies are no longer viable or

constructive, and that we should get rid of them. There
are many interdependent ways of connecting with other
people, and these connections are increasingly part of a
mobile life.
The «here and now» of art
Art is said to have a «here and now» about it that is
important for its being, and thus the viewers’ physical
presence is important for fully experiencing the work.
Will this understanding change in a more mobile world?
Is the art experience within a physical art space more
real or authentic than through Internet or in a catalogue?
The ubiquitous biennials are based on the assumption
that people want to travel to see art, thus biennials are
relying on a tourist economy. Will other ways of experiencing
art, forms that are more adapted to our mobile
way of life, become more common?
A catalogue can be such a form, a «room» that simultaneously
contains both proximity and distance. It creates
its space between its covers at the same time as it
somehow relates to the physical presence of an exhibition.
While working with this catalogue, we have chosen
to focus on the possibility to create a new space that in
itself makes up an exhibition. The artists have chosen for
themselves how they want to use this space; some have
written their own texts, other have commissioned them
from writers of their choice. This catalogue can also be
downloaded from the Funen Art Academy’s web site.
Thus it has a life on its own and its mobility is adapted
to an existence where meetings take on different forms
and where physical mobility can be both troublesome
(in terms of volcano clouds) and unethical (in terms of
pollution).
You gotta move it, move it
Mobility and the nomadic are central elements in today’s
society. Zygmunt Bauman describes modernity as
divided into two phases: solid from the beginning and
liquid during the last fifty years. Bauman holds that from
its outset modernity’s first and foremost project has
been to change and modernize the world. The solid
modernity believes in a
«(…) fully rational perfect world, rationally
perfect, or perfectly rational. And what is perfection?
As Renaissance master builder Leo Battista Alberti
put it, «perfection is a state in which every change
could be only change to the worse». So a perfect
state is the state in which all change should grind to
a halt, because you can’t improve on it. During the
period of «solid modernity» the most powerful thinkers
were convinced that it was a matter of acquiring
enough information, enough knowledge, and enough
technological skills in order to achieve such a perfect
world. Change was seen as temporary until we construct
a world which won’t require further change.» 6
During the last fifty years, we have moved away from
solid modernity to what Bauman refers to as liquid
modernity, i.e. something unstable and unable to keep
its form over a longer period of time. Our existence is
nomadic and entails an increasing sense of insecurity,
where one can shift from one social position to another.
Bauman holds that this is a revolutionary change. When
mobility transcends everything, we no longer search for
a perfect goal, as this can never be reached. Firstly the
perfect state of existence will never be able to be constant.
Secondly the underlying ground, i.e. the criteria
for the perfect state will be in constant motion. So the
only permanent aspect of our existence is change. Thus
we have to find new ways of behaviour and new ways to
connect, ways that suit the new existence.
You are only as good as your last project
Bauman’s description of life in liquid modernity is a
good description of life as an artist, working in constant
insecurity concerning economy, security and artistic
development. In liquid modernity, flexible labour where
work is organized as projects has become a constant
condition, as a state, city or a totality of projects «Cité
par projets»7– especially (though not exclusively) in the
case of artists.
In this existence, the insecure can rather be described
as mobility, where the best strategy is to be like a shark,
constantly moving. The shark dies if it stops.
«(…) living in a «liquid» modern world
breaks down into three conditions. We need to act
under the condition of first: uncertainty; second: under
the condition of continuous risk which we try to
calculate but which in principle is not fully calculable,
as there are always surprises; and third: we need to
act under the condition of shifting trust. A common
trend which was trustworthy today may become
condemned and rejected tomorrow. This is not only
true in the field of work but everywhere.» 8
In a liquid modernity the important thing is to learn how
to learn, because there is no final stage where you have
nothing left to learn, no ideal goal for you to reach. This
has of course always been the case with art. Any great
artwork needs a flaw; if it were perfect, it would be only
that and not a great artwork. In the preface of this catalogue,
headmaster Merete Jankowski writes about how
to learn to be an artist, and that in the Funen Art Academy
great emphasis is put on entering into a dialogue
with the day and age you are living in. In this communication
with constantly changing times, it is important
both to learn and to forget that which you have learnt
simultaneously. All the time you need to start afresh and
question what you have and what you know.
«Because there is never a point when you
can actually sit down quietly and say: «I have arrived,
I have done it, now I can just gather the cream of
profit from my previous efforts.» There is no such
moment of time. Learning is now a life-long process.
And today learning consists, above all, in the ability
of changing what you consider to be the true, the
proper, the usable, the effective knowledge.» 9
This catalogue will in various ways give an introduction
to 11 young artists who want to create their own stories
and their own spaces. In working with the graduation
show, it was important for us that the artists define their
own work. At the same time a common understanding
had to be established of how works are always in motion
when they meet with other works, other spaces and a
society in motion. As a continuation of the Marx quote in
the beginning of this text: Creative work will always take
place in a context, whether that context is a weighing
nightmare from earlier generations or something constantly
in motion, a site where old and new ideas mix and
are redefined. It is important for an artist to be able to
manoeuvre within these movements in time, space and
context. When working with the graduation show it has
therefore been important to together create a community
within a graduation class where everyone is, naturally,
focused on their own production in the final year of their
education. The exhibition and the graduation class forms
a society or collective as described by Urry:
«(…) there is communion, a human association
that is characterised by close personal ties,
belongingness and warmth between its members.
[This] is what is conventionally meant by the idea of
‘community’ relationships.» 10
As in the story of travellers in a time of volcanic clouds,
outer borders (like Western against Eastern Europe)
created a common internal identity and proximity. This
exhibition’s walls, this catalogue’s covers and the time
shared at the Funen Art Academy is part of the context
in which the 11 artists create their own stories.
Åse Løvgren / Karolin
Tampere, Curators,
RAKETT
(Endnotes) 1 / http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/
works/1852/18th-brumaire/ch01.htm 2 / http://www.scribd.com/
doc/16443296/Tallverdens-flyktninger-og-internt-fordrevneFlyktningregnskapet-2009
3 / John Urry, Mobility and Connections,
http://www.ville-en-mouvement.com/telechargement/040602/
mobility.pdf 4 / Ibid. 5 / Ibid. 6 / Zygmund Bauman, lecture at
ANSE-conference 2004 in Leiden, http://anse.eu/html/history/2004%20Leiden/bauman%20englisch.pdf
7 / Boltanski and
Chiapello, 1999 8 / Bauman, op.cit. 9 / Ibid. 10 / Urry, op.cit.

Kunstnerne /
The artists
17 Alan Aligrudić
29 Khaled Barakeh
41 Mikkel Teis
53 Line Elmstrøm Lund
65 Mie Lund Hansen
77 Mia Helmer
89 Tommy Thore Ipsen
101 Marie Irmgard
113 Phillip Drago
Jørgensen
125 Michael Würtz
Overbeck
137 Pelle Møller Schiødt
17
Alen
Aligrudić

Dancing;
Smashing;
Shooting
with
my
Cartoon
Gun.
Tansen Burkhardt
Wondering whether to remove myself from the scene...
Extending the plain, the surface out beyond my limits as it spins
me around releasing some friends and meeting new ones, dragging
some old memories off the bucking bronco... I may stand in
a small queue of people who all have the same idea but I eventually
find myself alone brushing my hand across many lives,
extending one life into another.
Let the dance begin!
The ass between two chairs, 2009

DK:
Billedlingvistik
At skrive med blod
Dobbelte moralske standarder accepteres i den udstrækning
de afslører nødvendigheden af, at acceptere
konformismen som det nødvendige onde i samfundet.
Som Peter Sloterdijk har påvist i sin Critique of Cynical
Reason, ligger der i det moderne kapitalistiske samfunds
inderste logik en medfødt forestilling om, at humanistiske
værdier gælder kun op til det punkt hvor de til syvende
og sidst bliver overtrumfet af magtens instrumentale
logik.
Hvad er den egentlige konsekvens af denne situation
? Overlevelse vedbliver med at være en stærkt motiverende
faktor i såvel den psykiske som i den fysiske
virkelighed: man accepterer samfundets regler og
præmisser, anerkender lydigheden (som Freud kaldte
virkelighedsprincippet) men glemmer imens at døden er
det eneste sikre.
Tingene er blevet blandet sammen og selvom forskellen
imellem æbler og pærer er indlysende, er vores interesse
i at skelne forbundet med etiske dilemmaer eller som det
ofte er tilfældet manglen på samme.
Anerkendelsen af behovet for at bøje sig for adfærdsnormerne
kollapser dog lige så snart tingene falder
sammen. Derfor er det nemmest ikke at have nogen
forventninger.
I forhold til livsbetingelser hvor overlevelse bliver til en
umiddelbar nødvendighed, genintroduceres magt, lunefulde
indfald og snedighed som acceptable adfærdsformer.
Den nuværende globaliseriseringstidsalder er karakteriseret
ved brugen af de moderne magtmidler, udnyttelsen,
manipulationen m.m. hvilke er mere tilgængelige
end nogensinde før.
Ikke desto mindre bliver nogle ældgamle paradigmer ved
at eksistere, hvilket kan begrunde de arkaiske udfald og
lige så arkaiske svarmønstre knyttet til ekstraordinære
situationer. Hævn er et fortidslevn; dette er vi i det
mindste fristet til at tro. Alternative, mere sublimerede
alternativer til et ”øje for et øje” doktrinen kan forekomme
til at være mindre voldelige, men princippet forbliver
det samme – nuance-og gradforskelle gør lille forskel i
forhold til det psykiske resultatet alt imens fjendskabers
fortsatte eksistens er en hård social kendsgerning.
Hvis man bliver slået med en sten og man svarer ved at
slå voldsmanden med brød, giver dette mening kun hvis
hvedehøsten er rig.
Identiteten skabes igennem symbolbearbejdelse, men i
en kakofonisk verden er manglen af forståelse og savnet
af en transparent adgang til kommunikabilitet to sider af
samme sag.
Ånden tager ikke telefonen på det sidste. Måske er han/
hun på ferie. Stædighedens, nostalgiens, chokkets og
selvdestruktivitetens sprog kunne måske fremmane
ånden hvis man vidste hvordan man kunne skrive på
transparent vis.
UK:
Image linguistics
Writing with blood
Double moral standards are accepted insofar as they
betray a necessity for accepting conformity as a necessary
evil in society. That is, as Peter Sloterdijk has elaborated
in his Critique of Cynical Reason, at the foundation
of the logic of contemporary capitalist society lies the
innate belief that humanistic values apply only to the degree
that they are ultimately trumped by the instrumental
logic of power.
What is the net effect of this situation? Survival remains a
powerful motivating factor both in psychic and physical
reality: one accepts the rules of the society, acknowledges
obedience (what Freud called the reality principle),
and in doing so forgets that the only certain thing is
death.
Things have gotten mixed up, and although the difference
between apples and oranges is obvious, our
concern for the distinction is linked up with ethical
considerations, or as is often the case, a lack thereof.
Appreciation of the need to conform to behavioral norms
falls away as soon as things fall apart. Then it is easiest
to have no expectations.
Conditions where survival becomes an immediate concern
reintroduce power, caprice, and cunning as acceptable
forms of behavior. The present era of globalization
is characterized by usage of all the contemporary means
of power, exploitation, manipulation, etc. available more
than ever. Even so, some ancient paradigms remain,
indicating the archaic turn of exceptional situations,
and are equally archaic responses. Revenge is also a
thing of the past; at least we are tempted to think so.
Alternative, more sublimated alternatives to an eye for
an eye may appear less violent, but the principle is the
same—distinctions and gradations make little difference
in the psychic result, and the perpetuation of animosity
persists as hard social fact. If one is hit with a stone,
the response of hitting the perpetrator with bread only
makes sense when the wheat harvest is good. The devil
will take his due, no matter what.
Identity is created through symbols, but in a polyvocal
world, absence of understanding and yearning for a
transparent access to communicability are two sides of
the same coin.
"Of all that is written, I love only what a person hath written
with his blood. Write with blood, and thou wilt find
that blood is spirit". Thus Spoke Zarathustra:
A Book for All and None; VII Writing and reading.
Friedrich Nietzsche.
The spirit doesn’t answer the phone much these days.
Perhaps he/she is on vacation. The language of stubbornness,
nostalgia, shock and self-destruction might
produce spirit, if one could only write legibly.
My handwriting has always been bad.

Greetings from Yugoslavia, epilogue, 2010
Greetings from Yugoslavia, 2006

Metaphysical fitness, 2010 Blood is thicker than water, epilogue: element, 2010

You have to die and finish primary school, 2010
DK:
Alen Aligrudic blev indskrevet på DFK som en 4-års studerende
efter han forinden havde opnået BA i fine arts fra Fotoakademiet i
Prag. Alen har igennem mange år arbejdet på et halvdokumentarisk
projekt (”Greetings from Yugoslavia, 2003 -2009”), hvis fragmenter
har været udstillet ved forskellige lejligheder såsom ved Noordlicht
photo festival in 2008 “beyond walls”, ;Foto Triennale Odense
2009,”Greetings from Montenegro” & Tensta Konsthall 2009.
Tensta kunsthall director William Easton has written : ...In his work
”Greetings form Montenegro 2007- 2009” made through a number
of journeys to one of the world’s youngest countries Alen
explores the landscapes of post-independence. What emerges
is a meditation on nature and capital. ...Aligrudic’s documentary
is both timely and a rude reminder of both the inadequacy and
power of international capital as well as the insatiable force of
avarice.
“Hilsner fra Jugoslavien” vises for første gang som et samlet projekt
under “My world images” festival i Danmark. Udstillingen “Localities”
Museet for Samtidskunst, Roskilde i slutningen af August
2010; ”Localities” refererer til, hvordan kunstnere forskellige
steder i verden, ser deres egen ”verden”. Disse ”verdener” er
interagerende zoner, der indeholder fantasier og forestillinger,
frustrationer og fremmedgørelse. De kan være konkrete eller
virtuelle, og steder for frihed eller begrænsninger.
Alen har brugt sin tid ved DFK til såvel at færdiggøre sit længerevarende
projekt, som at eksperimentere. Hans afsluttende projekt på
det 4.år var installationsværket ”The Aleph”, en visuel gengivelse af
en fortælling af Jorge Luis Borges med samme navn.
Idéen med “Billedlingvistik” har været at præstere så direkte og
banale fortolkninger som muligt af ordsprog og talemåder. Desuden
er idéen at skabe nogle værker, hvor meninger og betydninger ikke
er umiddelbare på trods af begrænsede fortolkningsmuligheder.
Han arbejder for tiden på et nyt fotografiprojekt, som udviser en tendens
til at blive til endnu et længerevarende projekt. “Metafysiske fitness”
var udløst med Susan Sontag “On Photography”:The camera
doesn’t rape or even possess thought it may presume, intrude,
trespass, distort, exploit and, as farthest reach of metaphor.
Mit arbejde har over for mig selv afdækket et behov for at give udtryk
til min verdensforståelse og dens kulturelle former. Den omstændighed,
at jeg har levet i mange forskellige miljøer og lande, har
inspireret mig til udvikle en mere rummelig kulturel bevidsthed –
en smeltedigel udtrykt i visuel form.
UK:
Skrevet i korrespondance med /
Written in correspondence with Peter Fuchs
Alen Aligrudic entered DFK as a 4th year student after previously
earning a BA in fine arts at the photo academy FAMU in Prague.
Alen has been working many years on a semi-documentary project
“Greetings from Yugoslavia 2003 - 2009”, fragments of which have
been exhibited on different occasions such as Noordlicht photo festival
in 2008, “Beyond walls” Foto Triennale Odense 2009, ”Greetings
from Montenegro” & Tensta Konsthall 2009. Tensta konsthall
director William Easton has written: ...In his work ”Greetings from
Montenegro 2007- 2009” made through a number of journeys
to one of the world’s youngest countries Alen explores the landscapes
of post-independence. What emerges is a meditation on
nature and capital. Aligrudic’s documentary is both timely and a
rude reminder of both the inadequacy and power of international
capital as well as the insatiable force of avarice.
“Greetings from Yugoslavia” is going to be shown for the first time
as a completed project under the My World Images festival, in
Denmark. Exhibition “Localities”; Museet for Samtidskunst,
Roskilde late August 2010. “Localities” will probe physical and
mental experiences of artists pushing forward the frontiers of
their worlds to deconstruct stereotypes and subvert the notion
of belonging to a specific locality/community/culture. These
artists will unpack what we take for granted and tackle the issue
of territory at large as well as the concept of otherness (me, us,
them). Localities is a multifacetted concept interconnecting time
and space, cultures and communities, reality and illusion.
Alen used his time at the DFK to complete his long term project, as
well as to take some time to experiment. His final project in his 4th
year was an installation work, “The Aleph”, a visualization of Jorge
Luis Borges’ short story of the same title.
The idea with the “Image linguistics” was to render as direct and banal
an interpretation as possible of folk sayings. The idea was also
to produce works where despite limited possibilities for interpretation,
legibility was not immediate.
He is currently working on a new photographic project that has a
tendency to become a long term one as well. “Metaphysical fitness”
was triggered with Susan Sontag's “On Photography”: The camera
doesn’t rape or even possess thought it may presume, intrude,
trespass, distort, exploit and, as farthest reach of metaphor.
My work revealed a need to express my world view and its cultural
forms. Living in many different environments and countries has in-
spired a broad cultural awareness, the melting pot expressed visually.

Contact:
alengrudix.dk / alengrudix@gmail.com
29
Khaled
Barakeh

DK:
“Det drejer sig om nye måder
at reproducere billeder på, at
skabe plads til refleksion”
“Politik er en uadskillelig del af
den menneskelige natur, det er
en uundgåelig del af livet”
Anna Krogh
UK:
“It is about reproducing images
in new ways, creating space for
reflection”
“Politics is inseparable from
human nature, it is an inevitable
part of life”
Anna Krogh
DK:
Refleksioner over
Khaled Barakehs arbejde
Khaled Barakeh (født 1976, Damaskus) er oprindelig uddannet
maler og arbejder med aktuelle og vedkommende
emner såsom politik, identitet, kulturelle og historiske
forhold såvel som magtstrukturer. I løbet af sine år på
Det Fynske Kunstakademi har han udviklet et stærkere
fokus på den konceptuelle kunstpraksis og arbejder i dag
med en bred vifte af medier. Dette fokus betyder ikke, at
Barakeh nedprioriterer det æstetiske. Tværtimod er det
visuelle aspekt essentielt for kunstneren, der konstant
søger at perfektionere sit kunstneriske udtryk.
De fleste af Barakehs værker refererer til politiske problematikker.
For Barakeh er politik en uadskillelig del af den
menneskelige natur som en uundgåelig del af livet. Hertil
hører problematikker vedrørende ideologi, vestlige versus
ikke-vestlige perspektiver og center versus periferi. Hans
værker er hverken politiske statements eller kunstnerisk
propaganda. De er abstraktioner over forhold, der
relaterer sig til politik og placerer sig i et åbent felt for
fortolkning, hvor der efterlades et rum for beskueren
til egne refleksioner og antagelser. Der er bevidst ikke
foretaget nogen kunstnerisk stillingtagen i værkerne.
Historierne fortælles fra ikke–fortalte vinkler; målet er at
stille spørgsmål, ikke at kritisere.
For meget af Barakehs arbejde gælder det, at kreativiteten
motiveres af hans personlige baggrund. Efter at have
opholdt sig i Danmark – i en fremmed kultur og med et
fremmed sprog – har en stor del af kunstnerens opmærksomhed
flyttet sig mod det visuelle og billedsproget i sig
selv. Herved rejses spørgsmål såsom: hvilken slags magt
genererer billedet, hvilken betydning tillægger vi det, og
især, hvad betyder repræsentationer i en visuel kultur?
Emner som er løsrevet fra de personlige erfaringer, som
de udspringer fra, men som ikke desto mindre har deres
baggrund i dem.
Det drejer sig om nye måder at reproducere billeder på, at
skabe plads til refleksion og om at etablere en mulighed
for at flytte nogle holdninger hos beskueren. Denne tilgang
udspringer ikke af en forestilling om, at kunst kan forandre
verden til det bedre, men er – ud fra et mere pragmatisk
perspektiv – baseret på ideen om, at kunst er et felt for
diskussion, og i håbet om at kunst kan en gøre en forskel.
Denne tekst er baseret på en samtale med kunstneren,
marts 2010.
Anna Krogh, kurator,
Kunsthallen Brandts
UK:
Reflections on
the work of Khaled Barakeh
Originally trained as a painter, Khaled Barakeh (born
1976, Damascus) works with current and pertinent issues
revolving around politics, identity, cultural and historical
matters as well as power structures. During the few years
at Fynen Art Academy, a stronger focus on conceptual art
practices has developed and he works today in a variety
of media. Barakeh does not see any incompatibilities
between an ideabased art and aesthetics. On the contrary,
the visual aspect of art is essential to the artist who
constantly seeks to perfect the expression of his works.
Most of Barakeh’s work includes references to political
issues. To Barakeh, politics is inseparable from human
nature, it is an inevitable part of life. And it covers themes
such as ideology, Western versus non-Western perspectives,
centre versus subculture. But his works are not to
be understood as political statements per se and they
are not intended to be artistic propaganda either. They
are abstractions on the issues related to politics and put
forth an open field for interpretation, leaving space for the
viewers to make their own reflections and judgements.
There are no obvious artistic positions in the works. The
stories are told from untold angles and the ambition is to
question, not critique.
As with much of Barakeh’s work, creativity is in part
motivated by his own personal background. Thus having
stayed in Denmark – a foreign culture and with a foreign
language – a great deal of the artist’s attention has
moved towards visuality and imagery itself. He thereby
raises questions such as: What kind of power does the
image generate, what kind of significance do we attach
to it, indeed, what does representation mean in the
context of visual culture? Issues not necessarily closely
related to his personal experiences, but nonetheless
grown out of them.
It is about reproducing pictures in new ways, creating
space for reflection and about establishing the possibility
of changing the viewer’s mind. This approach does not
come out of a belief that art can in fact change the world
into something better, but is – from a more pragmatic
perspective – based on the idea of art being a field of discussion,
in the hope that art can at least make an impact.
This text is based on a conversation with the artist,
March 2010.
Anna Krogh, curator,
Kunsthallen Brandts

VISIT US!, 2009
70x35 cm
Cotton fabric, embroidery, life jacket accessories
Outside. Inside, 2008
Video, Duration 00:02:34
Manipulation found image.

One hour is sixty minutes, and vice versa, 2009
Diameter size: 38 cm
Wall clock with Arabic numbers, going counterclockwise; mirror.
Layers, 2010
Wall calendar, 30x42 cm
As a simulation of the touristic calendar, printed on the first page of this calendar are the words “Visit Syria”.
Inside are pictures from the artist’s passport. All Syrian passports contain pictures of archeological,
religious or historical sites. These pictures have been attached to the pages of the calendar; for every month
a different image from the passport with a text in Arabic and English. However, as the year passes and pages
are turned, the images of the places in the passport begin to fade due to travel, and stamps and visas begin to
emerge, while descriptions of places are continued in spite of their disappearance from the pages of the calendar.

Transparent truth, 2008 - 2009
Ongoing project
A collection of clippings from a daily newspaper, each placed in front of a light
source to expose both sides of the paper.
On one side, a cartoon drawing of a piece of Danish rye bread with meat; on the other,
a long line of people waiting their turn to get food.
H2+O = (H2O), 2010
A reflection on the artist’s experiences during his stay in Denmark with regards to the complex
relationship between the original Danish society and different ethnic groups within it.
Four tables placed next to each other to form the
Danish flag. The tables have been filmed from above
and projected on the wall.
Falafel sandwiches wrapped in random images of
immigrants who live in the Vollsmose suburb.

Building Democracy / Mapping the real, 2009
A traveling film project
In collaboration with the artists Lise Skou, Lasse Lau and Max Schneider.
The project’s focus is on migration and marginalization of cultural producers coming from a non-Western sphere. It is
realized by traveling with a caravan through European suburbs (one trip took place in 2009, new ones are to come).
We are interested in exploring the sphere between migration and housing policies where globalization, UN refugee
systems, ‘new ethnicities,’ ghettos and under-representation overlap. The projects take place as a relay race. We ask
the first cultural producer to produce a short film, and to send us through his or her personal network to the next place
somwhere in Europe. Here the lead will find us the next director. Through the director’s network the caravan’s travel
route will be mapped. All that is known to us is the starting point in the suburb of Vollsmose in Denmark. We will enter
the caravan without knowing the end destination, and for a short period of time we will take on the role as migrants
in an attempt to relocate resources, and let the gaze shift position. During the travel, the caravan will function as our
home, vehicle for transportation, workingspace, film studio and platform for meetings and exchanges for people involved
and others passing by. Beside from producing short films we make documentaries that portray the trips and the
people we encounter. We meet biyearly to reevaluate and outline the future. New members in addition to the directors
and founders can be elected by vote at the biyearly meeting. Any disagreement at these meetings is solved by simple
majority.
DK:
Khaled Barakeh (født 1976, Damaskus, Syrien). Han er uddannet fra henholdsvis Det Fynske Kunstakademi
(MFA), Odense 2010 og Fakultetet for Billedkunst (BFA), Damaskus Universitet 2003, hvor han yderligere
studerede High Diploma i billedkunst i 2005/2006.
Barakeh har blandt andet haft soloudstillinger følgende steder; FAA Project Room, Det Fynske Kunstakademi,
Odense 2010, French Cultural Centre, Amman 2006, French Cultural Centre, Damaskus 2005. Yderligere er
han inviteret til at lave en soloudstilling på Kunsthallen Brandts i efteråret 2010.
Barakeh har yderligere deltaget i flere gruppeudstillinger, blandt dem;
Untitled (no. 5) LARM, København 2010, Sammenstød i Janus Bygningen, Tistrup 2009, Zara Gallery, Amman
2007; National Museum, Aleppo 2006, Khaled Shoman – institut for samtidskunst, Amman 2005. I 2009 tilsluttede
han sig kunstner kollektivet Building Democracy. Dette fortløbende projekt har indtil nu udstillet på Overgaden
– Institut for Samtidskunst, København 2009, Galleri Rum 46, Århus 2009. I efteråret 2010 vil Building
Democracy udstille i Parking Lot, Teheran.
UK:
Khaled Barakeh (born 1976 Damascus, Syria). He graduated from the Funen Art Academy (MFA) Odense 2010;
and graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts (BFA) Damascus University 2003; also he studied High Studies Diploma
in Art for one year at the same Faculty in Damascus 2005/2006.
He has had solo exhibition at the FAA Project Room, Det Fynske Kunstakademi, Odense 2010; French Cultural Center,
Amman 2006; French Cultural Center, Damascus 2005. Fall 2010 he will be exhibited a solo show at Kunsthallen
Brandts.
He has participated in group exhibitions such as:
Untitled (no: 5) på LARM, Copenhagen 2010; Sammenstød på Janus Bygningen, Tistrup 2009; Zara Gallery, Amman
2007; National Museum, Aleppo 2006; Khaled Shoman – Institution for contemporary art, Amman 2005.
In 2009 he joined an artists collective Building Democracy. This project has been exhibited at Overgaden – Institute
for contemporary art, Copenhagen 2009; and in Gallery Rum 46, Aarhus 2009. Fall 2010 it will be exhibited at Parking
Gallery in Teheran.

Contact:
khaledbarakeh.com / buildingdemocracy.info / kbarakeh@gmail.com
41
Mikkel
Teis
Ren luft: Kan det ikke passe, jeg har set dig før?
Mikkel: Jo, da jeg var lille, boede jeg i et bur i
zoologisk have.
Så jeg tænker, at det nok er der, du har set mig.
Ren luft: Hvorfor vælger du at bruge mig til at interviewe dig?
Mikkel: Fordi du er det mest flygtige, reneste, mest udefiner-
bare, jeg kender
Ren luft: Har jeg ret hvis jeg siger at din kunst fremstår lidt
dum, teenageagtig og mangelfuld?
Mikkel: ;)
Ren luft: Ffffuuuuuiiii ffff fffuuuu!!!!
Mikkel: Jeg elsker dig.
Ren luft: Hvad er det, du ønsker, at beskueren skal få
ud af at se på din kunst?
Mikkel:
Ren luft: Når jeg har set dine værker, får jeg en følelse af, at
de ikke er færdige, der er noget der mangler.
Det er, som om du er sprunget over, hvor gærdet er
lavest, har taget den hurtigste vej og glemt en
masse information på vejen. Er det noget, du selv
har tænkt over, eller er det bare mig?¨
Mikkel: Se et fly!!!
Ren luft: Hov, hvad var det. Hørte du noget?
Mikkel: Ja det var nok en ork
Ork: Grrrrrrr!!!!
Ren luft: uha da da! Ja det er det da også, kom vi løber fra
den, så den ikke fanger os, vi fortsætter bare
interviewet, mens vi løber.
Ren luft: Navn?
Mikkel: Mikkel.
Ren luft: Alder?
Mikkel: 27.
Ren luft: Højde og vægt?
Mikkel: 1,86 cm og 89 kg .
Ren luft: Bryst, talje og hofte?
Mikkel: 40-40-214.
Ren luft: Kæreste?
Mikkel: Lise.

Ren luft: Stilling?
Mikkel: Kunstner.
Ren luft: Fritidsinteresser?
Mikkel: Prøve på at fange dig.
Ren luft: Livret?
Mikkel: Millionbøf.
Ren luft: Her går jeg i byen?
Mikkel: Boogie`s
Ren luft: Det tænder jeg på?
Mikkel: Nisser.
Ren luft: Favorit-tøj?
Mikkel: Skjorter
Ren luft: Mit idol?
Mikkel: Dig ;)
Ren luft: Hey makker. Her er det mig, som stiller
spørgsmålene, er det forstået?
Mikkel: Uhhhh den ork kommer tættere på, kom
vi gemmer os under den her kæmpe bunke
matematikbøger for evigt.
Ren luft: Super ide.
Mikkel: Shhhhh, I min kunst vil jeg gerne lave fejl.
Og helst så store fejl som muligt, fordi fejl bliver
slettet, og i det de bliver slettet, opstår der et
tomrum - en slags intethed. De fejl jeg laver, kan
man vel kalde en slags ”dårlig kunst”. Det kan være
det lyder kludret, indviklet, eller bare som en gang
vrøvl, men det er i hvert fald det, jeg føler. Jeg vil
gerne skabe det tomrum, eller den intethed, da
det giver plads til at fylde det med alt i hele universet,
eller slet ingenting. Jeg laver ”dårlig kunst”, fordi
jeg ikke har svaret på, hvordan man redder den
tredje verden, sender raketter længere ud i rummet
eller skaber ligestilling, selv om jeg gerne ville.
Universet er så stort og der er så mange ting man
hele tiden bliver tvunget til at tage stilling til eller
have en mening om. Min kunst skal give lyst til at
glo ud i luften være ingen steder og ingenting eller
at være i et stadie af ”jeg ved ikke”, for jeg ved ikke!
Ren luft: Hey kender du Cotten Eye Joe med Rednex?
Mikkel: Ja den kan jeg fandme godt lide!! Hov forresten
jeg siger lige noget til orken ” Hejsa ork kom lige
herover”.
Ork: Ja Mikkel?
Mikkel: Skal vi nu ikke bare være venner og så kunne vi
tage ind til byen og købe alle de ting vi vil?
Ork: Jo!
Ren luft: Jo!
Mikkel: Hell yeah bitch! Shhhhhhh jeg vil så gerne stirre
ud i luften.
Ren luft: Tror du overhovedet på orker?
Mikkel: Det ved jeg sgu da ikke noget om.

Pure air: Haven’t I seen you before?
Mikkel: Yeah, I lived in a cage in a Zoo, when I was a young
boy. So I think that you probably have seen me there.
Pure air: Why did you choose to use me as your interviewer?
Mikkel: Because you are the most volatile, the cleanest, the
most indefinable I know
Pure air: Am I right if I say that your art appears to be a little
stupid, teenage-like and deficient?
Mikkel: ;)
Pure air: Ffffuuuuuiiii ffff fffuuuu!!!!
Mikkel: I love you.
Pure air: What is it you want the viewer to get out of looking
at your art?
Mikkel:
Pure air: When I’ve seen your work I get the feeling that it is
not finished, there is something missing. It is as
if youve followed the line of least resistance, taken
the fastest route and missed a lot of information on
the road. Is that something you’ve thought about, or
is it just me?
Mikkel: Look a plane!!!
Pure air: Hey, what is that? Did you hear anything?
Mikkel: Yes it is probably an orc.
Orc: Grrrrrrr!!!!
Pure air: Oh dear! Yes that it is, let’s run away from it so that
it does not catch us. We simply continue the
interview while we are running.
Pure air: Name?
Mikkel: Mikkel.
Pure air: Age?
Mikkel: 27.
Pure air: Height and weight?
Mikkel: 1,86 cm and 89 kg.
Pure air: Chest, waist and hip?
Mikkel: 40-40-214.
Pure air: Girlfriend?
Mikkel: Lise.
Pure air: Occupation?
Mikkel: Artist.
Pure air: Leisure Interests?
Mikkel: Trying to catch you.
Pure air: Favourite dish.
Mikkel: You know the famous Danish beef dish.
Pure air: Here I hit the town?
Mikkel: Boogie`s
Pure air: This turns me on?

Mikkel: Gnomes.
Pure air: Favourite clothing?
Mikkel: Shirts.
Pure air: My Idol?
Mikkel: You ;)
Pure air: Hey mate. Here it is me who asks the questions,
is that understood?
Mikkel: Uhhhh the orc is getting closer; let’s hide under
this giant pile of math books forever.
Pure air: Super idea.
Mikkel: Shhhhh In my art I like to make errors, as large
errors as possible because errors will be deleted,
and when they are deleted it creates a void a kind
of nothingness. The errors I make can probably
be called a kind of “bad art”. It may sounds
bungled, complex, or just nonsense, but it’s cer
tainly what I feel. I want to create the vacuum or
nothingness, as it gives space to fill it with every
thing in the entire universe, or nothing at all.
I make “bad art” because I have no reply to how
to save the third world, send rockets farther out in
space or create equality, even though I want to.
The universe is so large and there are so many
things you are constantly forced to consider, or
have an opinion about. My art should just give
desire to gaze into the air, be nowhere and nothing,
or be in a state of “I do not know” because I do
not know!
Pure air: Hey do you know Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex?
Mikkel: Yes I really fuckin like that one!! Hey by the way I
am just going to say something to the orc “Hello
orc, come over here”.
Orc: Yes Mikkel?
Mikkel: Shouldn’t we just be friends and then we could
go into town and buy all the things we want?
Orc: Yeah!
Pure air: Yeah!
Mikkel: Hell yeah bitch! Shhhhhhh I want to gaze into
the air.
Pure air: Do you even believe in orcs?
Mikkel: How the hell would I know?
Contact:
mikelmikkel@gmail.com
Line
Elmstrøm
Lund
53

DK:
I de senere år har jeg interesseret mig for stedet, hvor kunsten møder beskueren, særligt den utraditionelle kunstbeskuer,
der ikke jævnligt tager på museum eller til galleriudstillinger. Personer på gaden, har ikke de samme forventninger
og åbenhed overfor omgivelserne, som dem der træder ind på et museum eller et galleri og forventer at
blive udfordret.
Et tema, der ofte går igen er undersøgelsen. Undersøgelsen af steder, handlinger, positioner og objekter, samt
(kunst-) institutioner. Jeg forsøger at simulere virkeligheden, hverdagen, så tro som muligt for troværdighedens
skyld, men samtidig flytte situationen over i en anden kontekst. Værkerne balancerer ofte på en hårfin grænse mellem
det virkelige og det konstruerede.
Jeg er fascineret af samlingen og arkiveringen, hvor brudstykker sættes sammen til et nærmest fuldstændigt billede.
Nærmest, for bruddene vil ikke hele, og der vil altid være revner imellem. Brudstykkerne kan sættes op på
forskellige måder, der giver forskellige historier.
Med udgangspunkt i en konceptbaseret praksis mener jeg, at mediet er underlagt idéen. Derfor spænder min praksis
over en bred tematik, baseret i forskellige udtryksformer, bl.a. foto, tekst, performance/ actions og skulpturer.
UK:
In recent years I have been interested in the place where art meets the spectator – in particular the untraditional
spectator who does not go to museums or art galleries often. I think that people who go to museums or galleries are
expecting to be challenged, compared to people in the street.
A theme that is often present in my work is investigation - of places, events, positions, objects and the (art) institution.
I try to simulate reality and everyday life as accurately as possible bringing the situation into another context.
The pieces balance delicately between reality and construction.
I am fascinated with the collection and the archive where bits and pieces put together in an almost perfect picture.
Only almost perfect – the pieces will not become one and there will always be cracks between them. It can be put
together in different ways that will present different stories.
Based in a conceptual practice, I believe that media should be subjugated to ideas. Therefore my practice spans
over a wide range of expressions, among them photography, text, performance/actions and sculptures.
Plantegning, 2. sal
Model til afgangsværk, 2010

DK:
Historien bliver sand, på baggrund af mediet
den fortælles igennem, - og indtil andet er fortalt.
Værket jeg har valgt at vise til Afgangsudstillingen 2010 er et stedspecifikt værk, der involverer
hele institutionen, Kunsthallen BRANDTS. Med afsæt i historiefortællingen/historieskrivningen
vender værket sig mod autoritære og institutionelle rammer; De besøgende har
mulighed for at gå rundt i kunsthallen og høre historier om nogle af de begivenheder der har
udspillet sig i udstillingssalene i en nær fortid. Med et kort i hånden kan de finde de aktuelle
steder for begivenhederne og mærke fortidens vingesus.
Historierne på Kunsthallen har intet historisk islæt; de handler om kunstværkerne, deres
ufrivillige interaktion med publikum eller en degradering til materialer. På den måde griber
værket også ind i vores forståelse for selve kunstværket og afmystificerer kunstinstitutionen.
Når et værk beskadiges, kommer dets umiddelbare tilgængelighed frem. Det reduceres til
f.eks. oliemaling, papir eller voks. Et værk af papir er først og fremmest papir, mens det er
udformningen og konteksten, som gør det til et kunstværk.
Hvis vores samfund er skabt af de historier vi genfortæller, og vi bliver dem de andre var,
hvad sker der så, når man ændrer i historien baglæns? Hvis alt, hvad vi har bygget på, viser
sig at være falsk, - eller i hvert fald noget andet end det vi havde troet, redefineres vores
eksistensgrundlag. For hvis undersøgelser skaber ny viden, må undersøgelser også kunne
ændre den eksisterende viden.
Skitse til værkplacering Nr. 1
UK:
The story becomes true because of the media
it is told through, and until something else is told.
The piece that I have chosen to display at Afgangsudstillingen 2010 is a site specific piece
that involves the entire institution where it is displayed: Kunsthallen BRANDTS. With a starting
point in storytelling/story writing, the piece turns towards the authority and institutional
frames. The visitors have the possibility of touring the exhibition halls and listening to stories
about some of the events that have transpired here in the near past. With a map in their
hands, they can find the exact place of a specific event and sense the presence of history.
The stories of Kunsthallen BRANDTS have no historic relevance – they are about art pieces
and their unwilling interaction with the audience or degradation to mere materials. In this
way the pieces influence our way of understanding the art pieces and also demystifies the
art institution. When a piece is damaged, its more apparent side is revealed. It is reduced
to oil paint, paper or wax. A piece made of paper is foremost paper, but it is the shape and
context that makes it an art piece.
If our society is created by the stories that we tell, and we become those that others were,
what will happen when you change history? If all that we build on turns out to be false – or
just appears to be different than we thought, then the premises of our existence change. If a
study creates new knowledge then the study can also change existing knowledge.
Skitse til værkplacering Nr. 5

Del af Repetitive Gestures, (detalje/detail), 2009
(samarbejde med Rikke Ehlers Nilsson)
Del af Repetitive Gestures, 2009
(samarbejde med Rikke Ehlers Nilsson)

Sukker Studitrip, April 2009

DK:
Serien Backtracking (2009) består af en samling på
643 sukkerposer, som jeg har indsamlet fra hver kop
kaffe, jeg har købt siden februar 2005. Sukkerposerne
er opdelt i forskellige grupper, inddelt efter tid og sted.
Præsentationen simulerer en naturhistorisk æstetik, hvor
rammernes indhold bliver objekter for et studie. Undertitlerne
og objekterne hentyder til begivenheder og fragmenter
fra steder, som enkeltstående er hverdagsagtige,
men sammen bliver til et fænomen; en undersøgelse af
vestlig kultur og samfundsstrukturer.
Et andet tema som går igen i mine værker er det samfund,
vi opholder os i. Det handler om at sætte spørgsmålstegn,
for at blive klar over de valg vi tager. Det er
ikke en pegen-fingre, men snarere en pegen-på-en
anden mulighed.
I værket Repetitive Gestures (samarbejde med Rikke
Ehlers Nilsson fra 2009) fandt insekterne ind til institutionen
for at genfinde den ”ægte” konstruerede natur.
Alle de steder hvor naturen var repræsenteret, f.eks.
som en plakat, et mønster på en kop eller et logo på en
vandflaske, placerede vi grupper af insekter.
Det liv og den verden vi skaber for os selv, betyder undergang
for millioner af andre organismer. Vores eksistens
går hånd i hånd med deres undergang som J.W. Goethe
formulerer det:
”Intet øjeblik gives der (...) hvor du ikke er en ødelægger
og maa være det: den uskyldigste spadseretur koster
tusinde stakkels smaakrybs liv, ét fodtrin tilintetgør
myrernes bygninger, der betyder møje og arbejde og
tramper en lille verden ned – en forsmædelig grav.”
UK:
The series Backtracking (2009) consists of a collection
of 643 bags of sugar that I have collected with every
cup of coffee that I have bought since 2005. The sugar
bags are divided into different groups, archived after time
and place. The presentation simulates a natural historical
aesthetic, where the content of the frames becomes the
object of the study. The subtitles and the objects refer
to events and fragments of places that on their own are
trivial, but together become a phenomenon. A study of
Western culture and the structure of human society.
Another theme that is present throughout my practice is
the society that we live in. It is about raising questions to
realize the decisions that we make. It is not about pointing
fingers, but pointing to other possibilities.
In the piece Repetitive Gestures (cooperation with Rikke
Ehlers Nilsson from 2009), bugs came into the institution
to find the “true” constructed nature. Anywhere nature
was represented, for instance in the shape of a poster, a
pattern on a cup or a logo on a bottle, we placed groups
of insects.
The life and the world we create for ourselves is on behalf
of millions of other organisms. Our exsistence goes hand
in hand with destruction as J. W. Goethe put it:
”There is not one moment (…) when you yourself are
not a destroyer, of necessity: the most innocent of walks
costs thousands of wretched grubs their lives, one step
wrecks what the ant laboriously built and treads a little
world into an ignominious grave underfoot.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther /
Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers (1774), p. 65
(Letter of 18 August)

Contact:
lineelund.dk / lel@lineelund.dk
Mie
Lund
Hansen
65

If culture was
an operating
system...
Refers to the theories of Terence McKenna
DK:
Hvor er mit land? Hvor er mit folk? Hvad er min ret?
Gør jeg fejl i at stille disse spørgsmål?
I en undersøgelse af fascinationen og myten omkring det indfødte amerikanske
folk, finder jeg billeder af vinden over vidtstrakte sletter, ørne
og himmel. Jeg ser på indianere på strøget, og kulturen fremmedgør
mig fra min egen, selvom jeg føler en samhørighed.
UK:
Where is my land? Where is my people? What are my rights?
Am I wrong to ask these questions?
In an investigation of the fascination and the mythconcerning the Native
Americans, I find pictures of the wind on the plain, eagles and the sky.
I’m watching Indians on the street and the culture alienates me of my
own, although I feel a cohesion.

DK:
Jeg er vokset op i Sverige. Hvor vi kun havde et gammelt ægtepar
som overboere. Vi havde skoven omkring os, og de vilde dyr
kom ofte pa besøg i vores have. Så langt tilbage i tiden som jeg
kan huske, har jeg varet vidende om indianere. Min bror og jeg
legede altid i skoven, indianerskoven, som vi kaldte den.
Da jeg var 6 år startede jeg i børnehaveklasse, og der malede jeg
Indianere, bisonjagt, skindtorrings stativer og garvning. Det har
været svært at se hvad det forestillede, det er klart, men da jeg
vidste det, var det tydeligt nok. Jeg voksede op og fik andre interesser
i livet, og flyttede til Danmark som 19 arig. Mine børn kom
til verdenen da jeg var 22 og 24 ar. Sommeren hvor jeg blev 27 år
var jeg meget søgende. Jeg ledte efter et ståsted i livet. Ved et tilfælde
gik jeg ind i en forrettning inde i byen, som solgte indiansk
relaterede ting. De havde en folder om Dansk Indiansk Forening.
Jeg blev medlem og modtog et medlemsblad... Få dage senere
skulle der være en Powwow, en indiansk dansefest. Jeg tog en
frynset jakke på og bandt en fasan fjer i håret. Tog min taske på,
som var broderet med perler og lignede noget indiansk, selv om
jeg godt var klar over, at det var grønlandsk perlebroderi.
Jeg ville så gerne vise at jeg også “var indianer”. Da sangen og
dansen startede, stod jeg som lamslået. Det var første gang jeg
nogensinde havde hørt traditionel indiansk musik.. Det ligende
slet ikke den musik som man kan høre “indianere” på strøget
spille! Det gik lige ind i hjertet på mig, og tårerne begyndte at
løbe ned af mine kinder. Det føltes som om “jeg havde glemt det”.
Som hvis jeg rystede på hovedet, ville jeg kunne huske og forstå
det. Det var en fantastisk følelse! Efter den oplevelse kunne jeg
ikke få nok. Jeg kontaktede de mennesker der stod i bladet som
“kontakt personer”. Jeg begyndte at sy, at synge, at tage i tipi
med de andre og gå i svedehytte. Alt der havde med indianere
at gøre.
Senere rejste jeg til et reservat i USA og har der oplevet soldansen.
En spirituel ceremoni der foregår over 4 døgn. Det er ikke
solen der bliver tilbedt. Men de der danser, beder med ansigtet
vendt mod solen... deraf navnet. Nu danser jeg selv til powwows
her i Danmark, Sverige, Tyskland og denne sommer i USA, på det
samme reservat som jeg har besøgt mange gange. I mit daglige
liv, har jeg altid den indianske filosofi med mig. Respekten for alt her
på jorden og respekten for de aldre. Respekten for mig selv. Ingen
kan se på mig hvor mit hjerte vender, men hvis du spørger, så kan
du høre om det. Når vi mødes til et arrangement i Dansk indiansk
Forening, så behøver vi ikke fortælle hinanden hvad vi tror på, eller
hvordan vi tror. Eller hvor vores interesse er henne. Vi er bare. Vi
hjælper hinanden med dragter, fortæller om rejser osv. Det har givet
os et ståsted i tilværelsen.
Ved at afholde Powwow´s for et publikum, prøver vi samtidig at vise
at den indianske kultur lever. Den er lige så levende som vikinge
kulturen. Som har været med til at udvikle Danmark, til det vi er idag.
Indianere går ikke klædt i skind og pels, de har jeans og sweat shirts
på, ligesom hvilken som helst anden amerikaner. Det er kun når der
afholdes dansefester, at de tager “indianer tøj” på. Tøjet er meget
moderne, med både velcro, lynlåse, neonfarver, og fjer pa. De indianere
som jeg kender, er meget glade for det arbejde vi laver i foreningen.
Vi prøver at vise hvordan det er i virkeligheden. Ikke hvordan
Hollywood gerne vil vise det. Selv om “Danser med ulve” er en god
film, så slutter den med at indianerne dør! Men det gjorde de ikke!
De er her, de findes, og vil ikke fremstilles som skrigende vilde.
Jessica Lund
Jessica Lund har været formand for Dansk Indiansk Forening I
8 år. Aktiviteter I foreningen har varet en årlig sommerlejr samt
workshop i garvning, dans og tromme. Foreningen har eksisteret
under navnet siden 1994 og beskriver på deres hjemmeside;
”Foreningens formal er fortsat at skabe rammer, hvor der er mulighed
for indbyrdes kontakt og deraf følgende aktiviteter, som
er med til at formidle kendskabet til indiansk kultur.”
tipi.dk

UK:
I grew up in Sweden, where there was just an elderly married couple
living above us. We were surrounded by the forest and the wild
animals often visited our garden. As far back as I can remember, I’ve
been aware of Indians. My brother and I always played in the woods,
the Indian forest, as we called it.
When I was 6 years old, I started kindergarten, and there I painted
pictures of Indians, bison hunting, animal skins and tanning pelts.
It’s been difficult to see what I was depicting, but I knew. When I
grew up I had other interests in life, and moved to Denmark when I
was 19 years old. My children came into the world when I was 22
and 24 years. That summer when I turned 27 years, I was looking
for my place in life. By chance, I walked into a shop that sold Indian
merchandise, here I found a leaflet about the Danish Indian Association.
I became a member and received the member' magazine. A
few days later there was a Powwow being held, an Indian party for
dancing. I put on a tattered jacket and tied a pheasants feather to
my hair. I put on my Indian looking bag that was embroidered with
pearls, although I knew it was Greenlandic.
I wanted to show that I was also ”Indian”. When the singing and
dancing started, I was amazed. It was the first time I had ever listened
to traditional Indian music. It had no resemblance to the new
age music you hear from the ”Indians” on the street. It went straight
to my heart and tears ran down my cheeks. It felt like I had forgotten
something. As if I shook my head, I would remember. It was a fantastic
feeling! After this, I couldn’t get enough. I contacted the people
listed in the members magazine. I began to sew, sing and join the
others on trips to the tipi and the sweatlodge. I immersed myself in
everything that had to do with Indians.
Later I traveled to reservations in the USA and experienced the Sundance,
a spiritual ceremony that takes place over 4 days. It is not the
sun that is worshipped. But those who dance and pray have their
faces turned towards the sun, hence the name. Now I dance regularly
at Powwows, here in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and this summer,
in the USA. Every day, I have the Indian philosophy with me. Respect
for everything here on this earth and respect for the elders. Respect
for myself. No one can look at me and see in what direction my heart
leads, but if you ask you may know of it. When we meet for events
in The Danish Indian Association, we don’t need to tell each other
what we believe in, or how we believe, or what our interests are. We
just are. We help each other with costumes, share our journeys and
affirm our place in life.
We try to show how alive the Indian culture is, by having an audience
at the Powwow’s. It is as alive as the culture of the Vikings, that
have made Denmark into what we are today. Indians are not dressed
in skin and fur, they wear jeans and sweatshirts, like any other American.
They only wear authentic costumes for parties. These clothes
are modern, with Velcro, zippers, neon colours and feathers. The
Indians who I know are very happy about what we do in the association.
We try to show how life is in reality. Not how Hollywood would
like to show it. Even though ”Dances with Wolves” is a good movie,
it still ends up with the Indians dying. Which they didn’t! They are
here, they exist and don’t like to be presented as screaming wilds.
Jessica Lund
Jessica Lund has been the president of the Danish Indian Association
for 8 years. Activities in the association have been a
yearly summercamp, workshops in tanning, dance and drums.
The association has existed under this name, since 1994. Their
internet page describes them as; “the purpose of the association
as continuously to create a space, where in there’s the possibility
for mutual contact and following activities, that helps to
disseminate the knowledge of original American Indian culture.”
tipi.dk

Video still: Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2007 Video still: Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2007

“There are things they tell us that
sound good to hear, but when they
have accomplished their purpose they
will go home and will not try to
fulfill our agreements with them.
The white man knows how to make everything,
but he does not know how to
distribute it.”
“When I was young the Sioux owned
the world; The sun rose and set on
their land. Wars threw thousand of
men to battle; Where are the warriors
today? Where are our lands? Who
owns them? What laws have I broken?
Is it wrong of me to love my own? Is
it wicked for me because my skin is
red? Because I am Sioux, because I
was born where my father lived; because
I would die for my people and
my country?”
“It is through this mysterious power
that we too have our being, and
we therefore yield to our neighbors,
even to our animal neighbors, the
same right as ourselves to inhabit
this vast land.”
Quotes of Sitting Bull (1831–1890)

Contact:
mielun@gmail.com
77
Mia
Helmer

UK:
As a lonely and introvert child Mia spent her days
reading novels. The books offered her a possibility to
escape into a world of greater excitement and authenticity
than the one she was living in. Especially stories
that put the reader in the role of the explorer or the
detective won her heart. Top three among the literary
heroes were the detectives Hercule Poirot, Sherlock
Holmes and the Danish adventurer and seafarer Troels
Kløvedal.
For me art has a clear therapeutic aim. I make art
works that help me face my own traumas, anxieties and
problems. The viewer’s reception is not of any great
importance.
Art has not the power to change the world or make it
into a better place. I am seriously thinking of doing
something completely different after graduating from
Art Academy. I might go to Africa or Haiti or another
place where I can make a difference and help out.
Mia Helmer is a storyteller of the worst kind. Disrespectfully
she exploits her friends and family. Even
strangers, caught in an intimate conversation in public
space, will have their stories ripped off. One’s first
impression is that she seems nice, kind, trustworthy...
but don’t get near her if you value your privacy.
An important aspect of Helmer’s work is in fact works
done by other artists. In 2007, she and a group of fellow
students from The Funen Art Academy created the
piece REAL COPIES. The idea with REAL COPIES
was to create and exhibit accurate replicas of other
artist’s works. The work caused a lot of drama on the
Danish art scene because some of the copied artists
felt that they were being exploited. In a newspaper
interview, one of the offended artists degraded the
project as a work done by naive students. The artist
used the Danish term “studentikos” to describe the
work. This word has ever since been of great importance
for Helmer’s self understanding as an artist.
17
good
advices
for
the
future
I have asked eighteen people to give me a good advice
for the future. They have all in different ways been important
for my life and work for the last five years. Although the
advices are given to me, anybody is free to use them.

1.
Good advice in chronological order.
1 / “Art too is just a way of living, and however one lives, one can,
without knowing, prepare for it; in everything real one is closer to
it, more its neighbour, than in the unreal half-artistic professions,
which, while they pretend to be close to art, in practice deny and
attack the existence of all art - as, for example, all of journalism does
and almost all criticism and three quarters of what is called (and
wants to be called) literature. I am glad, in a word, that you have
overcome the danger of landing in one of those professions, and
are solitary and courageous, somewhere in a rugged reality. May
the coming year support and strengthen you in that.”
Rainier Maria Rilke:
Letters to a Young Poet: Letter Ten, Paris, The day after Christmas,
1908 (Paragraph 5)
2 / “Do not love art with your feelings.”
G.I. Gurdjieff:
Aphorism #10 Inscribed in the Study House at the Prieuré
3 / “There are many elements involved in a work of art.
The most important are the most obvious.”
Sol Lewitt:
Sentences on Conceptual Art, Sentence #30
4 / “If things don’t get broken down, there’s no chance
to build them back up minus the fatal mistakes.”
Michael Baers:
from an e-mail responding to Mia Helmer’s repeated requests to
remember this assignment
2.
Flygt!
Hvis der er nogen dumme, der er efter dig, så løb din vej.
3.
Dear Mia,
When you graduate from the art academy this summer, you will
have to define yourself as a professional artist. My advice to you
is, that you will have to keep on working with and develop your art
project through production. But this will never be enough. You will
also have to seek out opportunities, be an active agent so to say,
not only in relation to your own work of art, but also in relation to the
art scene as such. Do something. Meet people. And don’t be shy.
My best wishes for your future as an artist.
4.
Vær som du er og ikke som alle andre er.
5.
En salme, der ofte bliver brugt til begravelser, har en meget smuk
sætning, ’kæmp for alt hvad du har kært’. Den blev sunget til farmors
begravelse. Jeg fik gode tanker og tænkte, Mia værn om alt,
hvad du har kært. Kærligheden, barndommen, ungdommen og
fremtiden. Værn om begejstringen, det kreative, dine drømme, de
kære der er omkring dig og alt hvad du i livet møder.

6. 7.
Dear Mia,
Actually it is kind of difficult to reduce all I want to say to you
down to an advice or two – I mean, I have a lot of things I would
like to say but as soon as I try to decide on something more specific
to state then I start doubting big times – Thinking who am I
to give you advice – or I mean the only reason why we know each
other is that I did not manage my self to stay focused and make
my living from my praxis and therefore ended up teaching – Dear
Mia – please never start teaching - you don’t have time for that
– and I really mean it – don’t even think about it – ok that was
one advice and here is another: Keep imagine your goals even
though you don’t even have a clue how to reach them – imagine
the shows you want to participate in, the curators you want to
work with, the collections you want to be included in, the money
you want to earn, the ........, This is actually really important since
it is for sure that anything you can’t imagine will ever happen – so
please never stop imagine.
Best Wishes
8.
Nyd det, du bliver ikke yngre.
9.
Only think of what you are doing
in the art world once a year.

10.
My advice to you would be: feel free to do whatever you want, but
maybe that’s banal. Just enjoy doing things. I think that is the most
important part of doing artwork, isn’t it? Create things. That’s what
I like to do. Play around and invent, try out things, look at things that
are just around, look out of the window….
11.
Selvom du måske synes, det er sjovt at lave kunst, er det din pligt at
lave så god og vigtig kunst som overhovedet muligt. Men man kan
ikke opfinde den dybe tallerken hver gang - i så fald er det bedre
at genbruge en god idé end at kaste sig ud i noget rod i dårlig tid.
Undgå dog at genbruge en idé så mange gange, at den bliver finpoleret,
for det preller alt af på. Don’t kill your darlings - det er kun
lærere, der synes, det er en god idé, og på et tidspunkt må man
sige stop. Prøv til gengæld at spæde dem op med noget andet, så
dine darlings bliver en slags essens. Hvis nogen spørger, om du
kan leve af at lave kunst, så sig, at du ikke dør af det.
12.
Be courageous Mia!
13.
Kære Mia,
målet er vejen
1 /
abrikostræerne findes, abrikostræerne findes
2 /
bregnerne findes; og brombær, brombær
og brom findes, og brinten, brinten
3 /
cikaderne findes; cikorie, chrom
og citrontræer findes; cikaderne findes;
cikaderne, ceder, cypres, cerebellum
4 /
duerne findes; drømmerne, dukkerne
dræberne findes; duerne, duerne;
dis, dioxin og dagene; dagene
findes; dagene, døden; og digtene
findes; digtene, dagene, døden
5 /
efteråret findes; eftersmagen og eftertanken
findes; og enrummet findes; englene,
enkerne og elsdyret findes; enkelthederne
findes, erindringen, erindringens lys;
og efterlyset findes, egetræet og elmetræet
findes, og enebærbusken, ensheden, ensomheden
findes, og edderfuglen og edderkoppen findes,
og eddiken findes, og eftertiden, eftertiden
(Fra alfabet, Inger Christensen, 1981)

14.
Find your own advices.
15.
Hej Mia, et godt råd:
Organiser dig selv i et fagligt netværk. Du skal invitere andre ind i
dit netværk ud fra bestemte kriterier. På første møde skal du stå for
dagsordenen hvor I, i fællesskab, skal definere formål og rutiner omkring
netværkets møder. Netværket bør være fortroligt og medlemmerne
bør have tavshedspligt.
16.
(…) If you advance confidently in the direction of your dreams, and
endeavor to live the life, which you have imagined, you will meet
with a success unexpected in common hours. You will put some
things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and
more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and
within you (…) In proportion as you simplify your life, the laws of the
universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude,
nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is
where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
(From Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, slightly rewritten for
this purpose)
17.
Et godt råd
Forsikringer om hvad man bør gøre, eller hvad der er den rette
måde at leve sit liv på, er der mange af. Forståelig nok. De er opium
for selvagtelsen. Enhver ved hvor mistænkeligt meget lettere det er
at uddele gode råd end selv at komme tilrette med sit liv. Det drejer
sig med andre ord om at få sig selv anbragt i en position, hvor andre
har brug for ens indsigt og kloge anvisninger. Så besidder man
en af de få varige kilder til selvagtelse. En uberettiget, naturligvis.

Big thanks to
all good advisers:
Ditte Boen Soria
Ida Buhl
Jacob Lillemose
Janne & Rebekka Ditlevsen
Jens Haaning
Jørgen Dehs
Kirsten Balling Engelsen
Mai Hofstad Gunnes
Martin Helmer
Meri Sidsel Gustafsson
Mette Winckelmann
Michael Baers
Paul Huf
RAKETT / Karolin Tampere & Åse Løvgren
Sanne Kofoed Olsen
William Peter Brask-Nielsen
Contact:
miahelmer@gmail.com / forlagetmegaego@gmail.com
89
Tommy
Thore
Ipsen

What you call love was invented
by guys like me to sell nylons
Don Draper, New York City, 1960

TV Køkkenet – Talen om stemmens magt
På billedet: Mads Vestergaard
The Cooking Show – Speech about the Power of Voting
In this picture: Mads Vestergaard
Dokumenteret workshop
På billedet:
Mads Vestergaard,
Jacob Strachotta,
Alex Almbjerg,
Tommy Thore Ipsen.
Documented Workshop
In this picture:
Mads Vestergaard,
Jacob Strachotta,
Alex Almbjerg,
Tommy Thore Ipsen.
Afgangsprojekt
TV Køkkenet
Graduation show
The Cooking Show
DK:
Tommy Thore Ipsens beskrivelse:
TV Køkkenet er en dokumenteret workshop, hvor hypnotisør og leder af Institut
for avanceret hypnose, Jacob Strachotta, underviser cand.mag. i filosofi
og leder af Nihilistisk Folkeparti, Mads Vestergaard, i hvilke metoder, han kan
bruge til at fange folk i trance foran tv-skærmen. Workshoppen ender med,
at Mads Vestergaard holder ”Talen om stemmens magt”, hvor han, med de
metoder han har lært, camouflerer et budskab om frygt i en tale om den demokratiske
stemmeret.
Workshoppens øvrige medvirkende:
Fotograf: Alex Almbjerg. Lyd: Frank Mølgaard Knudsen. Makeup:
Charlotte K. Stage. Produktionsleder: Signe Barvild Stæhr.
Cand.mag. i filosofi,
Mads Vestergaard
Værket “TV-Køkkenet” bevæger sig på to planer: For det første er der det
umiddelbare niveau, der tematiserer afsubstantialiseringen af politik til fordel
for en indholdsløs populisme, der anvender suggestion og følelsesmanipulation.
Når de store fortællinger og ideologier er døde og hverken politikere
eller befolkningen er i stand til at formulere visioner for forandringer, bliver
politik en kamp om bedst at sælge vælgerne sit brand - sin lille fortælling -
ved at frembringe positive følelser, identifikation og gentagelser. På dette plan
kan “TV-Køkkenet” siges at afsløre de manipulationsværktøjer som magtens
“blackbox” indholder, og som både politikere og reklamefolk anvender til at
adfærdsregulere enten forbruget eller stemmeafgivelsen. Som kritik af magtens
(hemmelige) metoder bag scenen bevæger “TV-Køkkenet” sig indenfor
en klassisk oplysningskritik, der vil afsløre og belyse de skjulte mekanismer,
magten i virkeligheden benytter sig af. Dermed spilles der på forskellen mellem
den polerede overflade, der forfører og den “sande” bagvedliggende
virkelighed, hvor midlerne til forførelsen kynisk beregnes og udvikles.
Imidlertid kan “TV-Køkkenet” samtidig ses som en kritik af selve muligheden
for at lave klassisk oplysningskritik, der afslører den virkelige virkelighed under
overfladen og skinnets facade. Den kritik, der arbejder med skellet mellem
skin og virkelighed, forudsætter, at der faktisk er en underliggende, skjult
virkelighed, der kan afdækkes og afsløres som sandheden om magten. En
sådan type kritik kræver, at man kan stille sig udenfor verden, udenfor det
forførende skin og adskille skinnet fra det virkelige, autentiske og sande. Men
virkeligheden er forsvundet i en hyperreel virkelighedens ørken, det ikke er
mulig at komme ud af. Der er ingen virkelig virkelighed, der er ingen skjult
sandhed, som kan udgøre den autentiske kritiske instans. Dette tv-køkken
har også ”snydt” og konstrueret maden før showet. Der er kun overfladens
fritflydende simulakra uden reference til en ikke-simuleret sandhed: “The simulacrum
is never that which conceals the truth - it is the truth which conceals
that there is none.” Kritikkens afslørede autentiske virkelighed eller sandheden
om magten (afsløringen indeni the blackbox) er selv et kunstigt og fremstillet
produkt, der ikke transcenderer skinnet og overfladens immanente flow af
tegn og symboler. Værket viser på dette refleksive niveau, at kritikken selv er
indlejret i det forførende net af tegn og narrativer, den stiller sig kritisk overfor
og stiller dermed spørgsmål ved kunstens evne til at være kritisk i en æstetiseret
hypervirkelighed.
UK:
Tommy Thore Ipsen’s Description:
The Cooking Show is a documentary covering a workshop where hypnotist
and leader of The Institute for Advanced Hypnosis, Jacob Strachotta, instruct
MA in philosophy and leader of the Nihilistic Folk Party, Mads Vestergaard, in
methods to capture people in a trance in front of the television. At the end of
the workshop Mads Vestergaard addresses the public in his Speech about
the Power of Voting”, in which he applies his newly acquired tools to camouflage
a message of fear in a speech about the democratic right to vote.
Workshop crew:
Photographer: Alex Almbjerg. Sound: Frank Mølgaard Knudsen. Makeup:
Charlotte K. Stage, Productions Leader: Signe Barvild Stæhr.
Master of Arts in Philosophy,
Mads Vestergaard
The piece ”The Cooking Show” has two levels. Firstly, there is the immediate
level which addresses the de-substantiation of politics in favour of an empty
populism that applies suggestion technics and manipulation of emotions.
When the great stories and ideologies are dead and neither politicians nor
the public are capable of formulating visions of change, politics become a
competition of who's best at selling their ‘brand’ or ‘story’ to voters through
the awakening of positive feelings, personal identification and repetition. At
this level, ”The Cooking Show” reveals the tools of manipulation contained
in the powers-to-be’s ‘black box’ – one which both politicians and advertisers
apply to influence the behaviour of consumers and voters alike. As a criticism
of the powers-to-be’s (secret) behind the scene methods, ”The Cooking
Show” moves into a classic enlightenment-criticism, which illuminates and
reveals the hidden mechanisms that the power-to-be really apply. ”The Cooking
Show” thereby addresses the difference between the ‘polished’ surface
that seduces, and the ‘true’ underlying reality where the tools-of-seduction are
cynically developed and applied.
Furthermore, ”The Cooking Show” simultaneously criticizes the possibility of
doing a classic enlightenment-criticism itself – one which reveals the true reality
beneath the surface and appearance. That criticism, which deals with the
gap between surface and reality, requires that there actually is an underlying
and hidden reality which can be uncovered and revealed as the truth about
the powers-to-be. Such a criticism requires that one can place oneself outside
the world, outside the appearance, and separate the surface from the real,
authentic and true. But reality has been lost in the hyper-real desert of reality
from which it is impossible to escape. There is no actual reality or hidden
truth that can pose as the authentic critical instance. This Cooking Show has
also ”cheated” and constructed the meal before the show. There is only the
surface’s free-flowing simulacrum without reference to a non-simulated truth:
“The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth – it is the truth which
conceals that there is none.” The criticism’s revealed authentic reality (the revelation
within the black box) is itself an artificial and manufactured product
that does not transcend the appearance or surface’s imminent flow of signs
and symbols. At this reflective level, the piece shows that the criticism itself
is entangled in the seducing web of signs and narratives which it addresses
and thereby poses the question of whether art can be critical in an aesthetic
hyper-reality.
1 / Lyotard, Jean-François: La Condition Postmoderne: Rapport sur
le Savoir, 1979. Les Editions de Minuit. 2 / Se evt.: Sloterdijk, Peter:
Kritik der zynischen Vernunft, 1983. Suhrkamp Verlag, 3 / Poster,
Mark; Baudrillard, Jean (1988). Selected writings. Cambridge, UK:
Polity

Udvalgte tidligere værker
L’hvit outdoor
Selected earlier works
L’hvit outdoor
I Ægypten har udenlandske selskaber opkøbt 60% af
grundvandet. Samtidig har jordskælv ødelagt toppene
af flere højhuse i Cairo. Her sover nu byens fattigste
sammen med store billboards, der er oplyste hele natten.
In Egypt, foreign investors have purchased 60% of the water
supply. At the same time earthquakes have ruined the rooftops
of many buildings in Cairo. Here, the poorest of the population
now sleep in the light from the billboards.

Product placement af kildevandsproduktet
L’hvit fra filmen af samme navn
På billedet: Skuespiller Kristian Halken (DK)
Product placement of the bottled water product L’hvit from the
movie of the same name. In this picture: Danish actor Kristian
Halken
DK:
Tommy Thore Ipsens beskrivelse:
Både produktet, brandet og sloganet L’hvit ejes af kunstner Tommy Thore Ipsen. Brandet L’hvit er blevet testet på flere
måder og har indtil videre haft sin udbredelse i form af overstående eksempler. Herudover har produktet været uddelt
som samples til forbrugere på strategiske steder i Danmark og har sponsoreret en skoleudstilling på Det Fynske
Kunstakademi, videoprojektionsværket ”Rorschach” på toppen af Bandts Klædefabrik af Magnus Fuhr og Samuel Willis
Nielsen samt et land-art-projekt i Balestrand (NO).
UK:
L’hvit reklamefilm, 30 sekunder
På billederne: Model Lotte Nørholm Andersen (DK)
og skuespiller Niels Anders Thorn (DK)
L’hvit Screen Avertisement, 30 seconds
In these pictures: The Danish Model Lotte Nørholm Andersen
and Danish actor Niels Anders Thorn
Tommy Thore Ipsen’s description:
All rights of the product, brand and slogan L’hvit is reserved to Tommy Thore Ipsen. The brand L’hvit has been
tested in several ways and has so far been used in the examples mentioned above. Additionally, samples of the
product were handed out to consumers at strategic locations in Denmark, and it has sponsored an exhibition at
Funen Art Academy, the video projection work “Rorschach” on the roof of ‘Bandts Klaedefabrik’ by Magnus Fuhr
and Samuel Willis Nielsen, and a land art project in Balestrand (NO).

GTKM
På billederne: Skuespiller Valmike Rampersad (UK)
og skuespiller Olga Fedori (UK)
In these pictures: Actor Valmike Rampersad (UK)
and actress Olga Fedori (UK)
DK:
Tommy Thore Ipsens beskrivelse:
GTKM er et eventyrligt kollage-filmprojekt, som søger at tage drømmen om den evige kærlighed alvorligt. For at
beskrive hvor fragmenteret store følelser så som kærlighed kan få én til at føle sig, springer fortællingen frem og
tilbage i tid og i symbolske universer. Filmens udtryk er en hybrid mellem animation og traditionel film, der tilsammen i
stil, form og farve udtrykker det menneskelige dilemma mellem kontrol og kærlighed.
UK:
Tommy Thore Ipsen’s description:
GTKM is a fairytale collage-film project that tries to take the dream of eternal love seriously. In order to describe how
fragmented big feelings like love are experienced, the story jumps back and forth in time and symbolic dimensions.
The film’s visual expression is a hybrid between animation and traditional film, which combined in style, form and
color seeks to express the human dilemma of control versus love.

Contact:
t_ipsen@yahoo.dk / [+45] 2851 2513
101
Marie
Irmgard
1. I find Elvis more credible than the Beatles (their music is okay but they have that suspicious Tony Blair look)
2. I think it is a cliché to view artist such as Jackson Pollock as clichés
3. I find Picasso overrated
4. I went to a radical communist school and I am forever vaccinated and warning against ideologies
5. Thank you Sofi Oksanen for saying what I couldn’t
6. I do not see my paintings or drawings as differing in style but I understand if you do
7. I rank Jesus higher than Freud
8. I live half of my life in passive astonishment
9. I live a quarter of my life in frantic indifference
10. I live a quarter of my life in silent rage
11. I believe a painting can change the world
12. I don’t think Denmark is a very healthy place to be
13. I sometimes consider to make myself a tinfoil hat
14. I don’t believe everything can be conceptualized or contextualized
15. My aim is to be a good painter
16. I am serious about my paintings
17. Irony is good in humor sometimes, mostly it is not good in art
18. I believe that the carnival is over
19. I value binary structures to a certain extent
20. I don’t really understand Duchamp but I like his work
21. I prefer a visible boss to hegemony any day
22. I believe that images are worth repeating
23. I left university and applied for Fine Arts Academy because of the novel “Beloved”
24. I feel closer to Giotto than I do to any of my fellow artists
25. I don’t think a painting is justified by referring to another painting
26. America terrifies me but I miss it every day
27. Above all I love New Mexico
28. I loved Seinfeld but thought Kramer was superfluous
29. I have spend more joyful moments in the company of Niles Crane than with any other person
30. I believe Nike’s slogan to be today’s most relevant philosophy
31. I believe Marx rotates (wherever he is) in horror and disbelief
32. I think it is a shame Esperanto didn’t catch on
33. I miss cassette tapes
34. I haven’t eaten meat in 18 yrs but I refuse to call myself a vegetarian because I find vegetarians holier-than-thou-annoying
35. Sometimes the emperor has nothing on but I prefer to pay attention to what he wears when he does
36. I once sort of liked a famous conceptual artist but it ended when he claimed he could reproduce any Rothko painting
37. I miss the desert
38. I don’t think Rafael was any good
39. I think Fra Angelico was all good
40. I have often wished I was a boy
41. I hear the phrase “one must be stupid to paint” roughly about 14 times a year
42. Almost daily people tell me that “I shouldn’t worry so much”
43. Almost daily I think that people ought to worry more
44. I often wonder what happened to all the beautiful people?
Movie stars today are not beautiful, there is no Audrey Hepburn, there is no Paul Newman
45. I agree with both Peter Weibel and Clement Greenberg
46. I have a mirror in each room which makes me very uncomfortable and self-conscious
but Karen Blixen recommends it as a way to stay present
47. My best friend in college always proclaimed “Doubt is God, God is Doubt”
and that stayed with me way too long and I have recently decided that it’s time to finally let it go
48. I wish I was more like Jim Morrison and sometimes I am
49. I sometimes think about Lenny Bruce
50. I think about Huckleberry Finn almost daily
51. I believe that A Chacun son Paradis
52. I am convinced that in 300 years John Lennon will be remembered as the guy who was married to Yoko Ono
53. I am convinced that in 50 years Johnny Deep will be remembered as the guy who was married to Vanessa Paradis
54. I (too) often say to myself: “oh Toto we’re a long way from Kansas”
55. I think analysis can be paralysis and often is
56. J’veux pas finir comme Kurt Cobain
57. I know that “for the few” and “for the elite” are very different concepts
58. I believe that there is a pot of gold in the end of the rainbow
59. I tend to trust women who wear cowboy boots
60. I am not afraid of the dark
61. I am afraid of people in pastels
62. Johnny Cash was mine exactly two decades before he was yours
63. I still have Kris Kristofferson to myself but it is not quite the same
64. I wish someone would just fix things but I always roll up my sleeves
65. I believe painting is an idiotic discipline
66. I believe painting is the most important discipline

UK:
About
my
present
work
Evoking is first and foremost a series about painting.
Evoking can mean “to develop” as in developing photos
in a darkroom, but it can also mean to evoke spirits and
thus have connotations of something supernatural and
uncanny. What interests me in these paintings apart from
the formal is the same which interest me in the fractal
theory and the Fibonacci system. I have always been
occupied with the patterns and images recurring in seemingly
different places. In macrocosms’ and microcosms
everything looks the same and my Evoking paintings
might as well be paintings of tiny cells in a Petri dish as a
picture from outer space. Images of things that look “both
and” interest me - for instance how images from inside
of the human body reoccurs in astronomic phenomena.
It adds a layer to the meaning of the Evoking series that I
am a human (a physical presence) existing bodily in space
and making those forms; I place myself in the universe
making objects that look both like the physicality inside
me and the physicality surrounding me. In that sense, it
does not matter if one view the world as a natural scientist,
atheist, agnostic or religious creationist – what is
interesting is systems exists in apparent chaos.
The titles
Some of my series have titles taken from books for
instance Underworld after Don Delillo’s novel and the
Aldous series named after the author of The Doors of
Perception Aldous Huxley. Before I entered the Fine Arts
Academy, I took a BA in English literature so sometimes a
novel will come to mind in connection to my work. It is not
that I have an especially great passion for literature; it is
more that I have a few authors which I return to because
they deal with some of the same topics as me. My titles
are also sometimes for instance song titles or something
else. The paintings are not illustrations of those books; it
just happens that those authors’ words were better than
any I could come up with.
However, I did read those novels repeatedly before I
made the paintings, so it is possible that the novels
logged inside of me and merged with other things and
became pictures. I cannot know exactly which came first
and I do not think it matters - what matters is the feeling
of affinity with specific authors and artists. This affinity that
crosses time and culture is to me where art has its bearing:
you can be in front of a William Blake drawing or a
Giotto painting and feel an affinity that transgresses time
and place and perhaps more importantly, it places you in
the world and reassures you that you are not a complete
alien or completely misplaced.
The Underworld paintings are both a formal investiga-
tion into what space I can create on a canvas with ink,
and into how light, transparent, voluminous, and heavy
one can make something at the same time. Notwithstanding,
the formal investigation Underworld contains an
ambiguous message. The Underworld paintings look a
bit like the ones that are given in children’s paint books –
connect the dots and an elephant or a clown will appear.
However, in the Underworld paintings lines are drawn
connecting the dots over and over again; sometimes the
line is frantic, other times agitated and other times just
numb. However, no matter how many times the dots are
connected, the appearance of some figurative image i.e.
meaning never comes. The closest one comes to a figurative
motif in the Underworld paintings is a net – a web
that is created in the attempt to create meaning – create
recognizability. At the same time, the dots have their own
autonomy, they are by themselves and yet they are connected
each single one of them: everything is connected
- “the butterfly effect” vs. complete randomness. The ink
drops/the connecting points might be randomly scattered
all over (they are actually random, since I make the ink
drippings standing on a ladder dripping ink on the canvas
that lies on the floor). However, they are connected; it
suggests that there could be some kind of meaning even
if it might be changeable and inaccessible for us.
The Aldous pictures are a pattern repeating itself endlessly,
seemingly meaninglessly, but creating a picture.
The Aldous paintings are neither figurative nor abstract.
They are an organic ornament coming from free flowing
stream of consciousness. In that process I have no
idea what the end result will look like. Manipulation or
intervention in the painting happens when something from
the outside interferes (I have to go; someone disturbs
me, the door rings, everyday life). It is in this interference
that a shift in consciousness happens and I see and
am confronted with the painting, as if it was for the first
time. It is in this “first meeting with the painting” that I
take some decisions as to whether to leave it as it is, or
keep on working on it, or where it could be interesting to
begin next time I paint on that particular painting. Thus,
the Aldous paintings come about in an interrelationship
between different states of consciousness or being.
In a passage in The Doors of Perception Aldous Huxley
describes how he on a mescaline trip gets lost (or
found) in a fold of his trousers looking at his knee: “when
I looked down by chance, and went on passionately
staring by choice, at my own crossed legs. Those folds
in the trousers - what a labyrinth of endlessly significant
complexity! And the texture of the gray flannel - how rich,
how deeply, mysteriously sumptuous! And here they
were again, in Botticelli’s picture”.
The paintings are called Aldous because it is about
getting lost in a complete unconscious state and finding
meaning and structure and beauty in something at first
sight meaningless and mundane. Huxley writes how
the fold of his trousers reappears in a Botticelli picture,
which relates to my interest in how the same forms and
shapes and meanings repeat themselves in everything. I
do realize that I here touch upon a view of the artist that is
considered anachronistic, at best a cliché. Nevertheless,
I do think that what makes an artist, or makes a person
want to do art, is sometimes that they perceive the world
and the details of the world as they were on a constant
mescaline trip.
The series Mindstills is closely connected to the Aldous
paintings because it is what appears with a black pen,
paper and stream of consciousness: they are a sort of
automatic drawing as in automatic writing. The drawings
are called Mindstills because they are a still of
what comes out of my mind at that particular time. It is a
frequency and a universe I tap into and where I like to be.
In Mindstills, there are a lot of old TVs, radios, bolts, nails
and light bulbs, tree houses but sometimes there are also
monsters and dragons. To me Mindstills are in some way
a boy’s universe, of wires, nails and of taking an old clock
apart just in order to see what it looks like on the inside.
When I draw the Mindstills, I enter a universe where I
feel a bit like a boy walking by a river front looking around
with no other aim than exploring or seeing stones or trees
pretending they are dragons or like those old men that
collect way too many old TVs just because they find them
interesting.
The series Irmgard’s Journal/ Baby Suggs’ Rag Rug
are drawings from my life, intermingling pop culture with
“high” culture such as novels. The French Lieutenant’s
Woman is a title of one of the drawings that interweaves
the postmodern novel with my personal story. It is the
relation between story and history that is most dominant
in Irmgard’s Journal/ Baby Suggs’ Rag Rug. Irmgard’s
Journal refers to my diary; it is not a chronological journal
but skips around, from early childhood to present. Baby
Suggs is a character in the novel Beloved by American
author Toni Morrison - Baby Suggs is an old slave that
has retreated from life and has lost her belief in the
power of the Word and words. So she spends the last of
her life in bed withdrawn into her own inner world, only
thinking about colors. Every day she will look at a new
color and explore that: “God puzzled her and she was
too ashamed to say so.” So she takes to her bed “to
think about the colors of things.” “I want to think about
something harmless in this world,” she says, and “except
for an occasional request for color,” she utters nothing,
silenced by color. “‘Bring me a little lavender in, if you
got any. Pink, if you don’t.’ And Sethe would oblige her
with anything from fabric to her own tongue. . . . Took her
a long time to finish with blue, then yellow, then green.
She was well into pink when she died”.
Rag Rug refers to the American tradition where women in
generations sow and embroider a patch for a patchwork
rug where they tell their story; for each woman in each
generation there is a patch that tells her story. Those

patchwork blankets are full of colors and personal stories
mounting into history. Irmgard’s Journal/ Baby Suggs’
Rag Rug consists of 40 x 40 cm drawings; they are equal
size squares as the patchwork rug patches. Each square
is a story told; some are told very directly, others are more
subtle.
For me, the excessive use of colors makes the stories
both bearable and unbearable: to allow myself to exceed
in colors made it bearable to tell the story and to continue
telling an autobiographical story. What makes it unbearable
is that colors exist independent of what happens to us
- life does not cease to be in colors when tragedy occurs.
I once read a story about a soldier in First World War.
He is left physically unharmed on the battlefield. After the
fight is over, he walks around between corpses and mutilated
bodies and sees to his horror that the sun is shining
in the metal, the blood is very red, the grass is very green
and that beauty does not cease to exist. There is a similar
scene in Toni Morrison’s Beloved, where an ex-slave, Paul
D, is in despair because he cannot help but look at the
colors of America and love America for its beauty despite
of what that country has done to him. Bringing in pop
icons such as Elvis into these drawings can appear distasteful
but if there is a picture of Elvis (Hendrix or Willie
Nelson), it is because each of these particular icons once
had a personal relevance to me. Furthermore, the image
of them also serves to illustrate how everything (story, history,
pop culture, war) takes place at the same time and
how ungraspable that is.
The imagery in Irmgard’s Journal/ Baby Suggs’ Rag
Rug has a resemblance to William Blake’s drawings
and illustrations; Blake’s drawings are also psychedelic
watercolors and his drawings have often been accused
of being too much, too closed and too personal because
of what has been called his own eccentric and intricate
mythology. The title of Aldous Huxley’s The Door’s of
Perception comes from Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven
and Hell: “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything
would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has
closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow
chinks of his cavern”. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is
the one of Blake’s illustrated books that comes closest to
my drawings in Irmgard’s Journal/ Baby Suggs’ Rag Rug.
Thus, there is a link between my Irmgard’s Journal/ Baby
Suggs’ Rag Rug drawings and my Aldous paintings.
There is a linkage in all my works that ties the pieces
together. The seemingly many different styles or directions
I work within are all an exploration of painting. Different
ways of painting (styles) can have an identical atmosphere
- as with music; one can take a piece of Chopin
and it will have the same quality/atmosphere as a Dolly
Parton song or as a Sonic Youth song. It is not the genre
or style of the song or the painting’s that is important but
its authenticity.
The French Lieutenants Woman,
Felt-tip pen water colour, ink on paper, 40x40 cm.
From the serie irmgardsjournal

Old TVs Tree, pen on paper, 40 x 40 cm.
Evoking Fremkaldt, ink and acrylic on canvas, 80 x 80 cm.
(Page 108)
Aldous I, ink on canvas, 200 x 150 cm.
Underworld no. 3, ink on canvas, 150 x 150 cm.

DK:
Om
mine
nuværende
projekter
Evoking handler først og fremmest om maleri. Evoking
kan betyde ”fremkaldt”, som at fremkalde fotos i et
mørkekammer men også ”fremmane”, som at fremmane
ånder og har derfor konnotationer til noget uhyggeligt og
overnaturligt - noget unheimlich. Det, der interesserer mig
i Evoking malerierne udover det formelle, er det samme,
som interesserer mig ved fraktalteori eller fibonacci-systemet;
jeg har altid interesseret mig for former og mønstre
(tal), der går igen i tilsyneladende forskellige ting. I
mikrokosmos og makrokosmos ligner tingene hinanden og
mine Evoking malerier kunne ligeså godt forstille bittesmå
celler i en petriskål, som et astronomisk fotografi fra rummet.
Billeder af ting der er både og, og begge dele interesserer
mig – fx hvordan ting inde i menneskekroppen kan
ligne astronomiske fænomener. Det tilføjer et betydningsbærende
lag til Evoking, at jeg er et menneske, der eksisterer
i det fysiske rum; jeg placerer mig selv som en fysisk
enhed i det fysiske rum, der laver de former og mønstre,
der går igen, både inde i min krop og i det fysiske rum,
der omgiver mig. Det interessante for mig er ikke om man
anskuer verden og eksistensen som en religiøs kreationist,
en ateistisk darwinist eller agnostiker – det interessante er,
at der eksisterer systemer i et tilsyneladende kaos.
Titler
Nogle af mine tegninger og malerier låner titler fra bøger,
fx serien jeg har kaldt Underworld efter Don Delillos
roman og Aldous serien, efter Aldous Huxley forfatteren
til The Doors of Perception. Før jeg begyndte på
akademiet, tog jeg en bachelor i engelsk litteratur, så
derfor er det naturligt, at jeg indimellem kommer til at
tænke på en bog i forbindelse med mit arbejde. Jeg har
ikke en specielt stor passion for litteratur. Det er mere, at
der er bestemte forfattere, jeg vender tilbage til fordi de
beskæftiger sig med de samme emner som mig. I princippet
kunne jeg lige så godt bruge en sang-titel eller
noget helt andet, hvilket jeg også gør sommetider. Mine
malerier og tegninger er ikke illustrationer af bøgerne,
men disse forfatteres ord er bedre til de specifikke
værker, end nogen ord jeg selv kunne komme op med.
På den anden side har jeg læst disse bøger gentagne
gange førend jeg malede billederne, så jeg kan ikke
undsige at de har ligget og blandet sig med alt muligt
andet og er blevet til billeder. Jeg kan ikke vide, hvad der
kom først og det er heller ikke det vigtige; det vigtige
er følelsen af et slægtskab med bestemte kunstnere og
forfattere. For mig, er det i følelsen af slægtskabet der
overtrumfer både tid og kultur, at kunst har meget af sin
mening. Det at man kan stå foran en William Blake illustration
eller et Giotto maleri og føle en sammenhørighed,
der eliminerer tid og sted er måske vigtigt; en sammenhørighed,
der placerer en i verden og viser dig (forsikrer

dig om) at du alligevel ikke er et fejlplaceret rumvæsen –
at der er andre, der har tænkt og følt præcis det samme
på et eller andet tidspunkt et eller andet sted.
Underworld malerierne er både en formel undersøgelse
af rum – hvad kan jeg skabe af rum på et lærred
med kun blæk og hvor let, transparent og samtidigt
voluminøst og tungt, kan man lave et billede? Udover
det formelle, har Underworld malerierne et ambivalent
indhold. Underworld billederne ligner lidt billederne i et
barns malebog; tegn mellem prikkerne og der opstår
en klovn eller en elefant. I Underworld billederne er der
tegnet endeløse linjer mellem prikkerne. Sommetider er
linjerne feberagtigt hektiske, andre gange rasende og
andre gange indifferent dovne. Men uanset på hvilken
måde linjerne er tegnet, eller hvor mange gange de er
optegnede, udebliver det figurative motiv (meningen).
Det tætteste man kommer på et figurativt motiv i Underworld
billederne er et net, et net der opstår i forsøget på
at skabe mening - genkendelighed. Blækdråberne har
deres egen autonomi, de er for dem selv – alene, men
samtidig er hver enkelt af dem forbundet af stregerne, de
er alle sammen tilkoblet – alting hænger sammen – sommerfugleteorien
(kaosteorien) versus fuldstændig tilfældighed.
De – blækdråberne, er muligvis tilfældigt spredt
ud over det hele (hvilket de er siden jeg står på en stige
og lader en pensel dryppe blæk ned på et lærred), men
de er alligevel sammenkædet, hvilket antyder en slags
mening - desuagtet den mening er foranderlig og meget
af tiden utilgængelig.
Aldous malerierne er en form, et mønster der gentages
uophørligt, tilsyneladende meningsløst men som alligevel
frembringer et billede. Aldous malerierne er ikke figurative
og de er ikke abstrakte, de organiske ornamenter fra
det ubevidste (stream of consciousness) automattegning.
De er lavet uden bevidst indgriben og jeg har ingen
ide om hvordan slutresultatet kommer til at se ud. Når
jeg laver Aldous billederne, er jeg på sin vis i en slags
koncentreret ubevidsthed eller en anden bevidsthed.
Indgriben eller manipulering af billederne sker ved afbrydelser
i processen (jeg skal gå, nogen forstyrrer mig,
det ringer på døren osv.) I den afbrydelse sker der et
skift i bevidsthedstilstanden, en slags opvågnen, sådan
at jeg for første gang bliver konfronteret med billede og
ser det ”rigtigt”. I dette første møde med billede, hvor
jeg ser det for første gang, tager jeg nogle beslutninger,
om jeg enten skal lade det stå, eller om jeg skal arbejde
videre eller hvor det kunne være interessant at starte
fra næste gang. Dermed opstår Aldous billederne i en
vekslen mellem forskellige bevidstheds tilstande. I en
passage i The Doors of Perception beskriver Aldous
Huxley hvordan han, mens han er på meskalin fortaber
(eller finder sig selv) i en fold på sine bukser; Det var
rent tilfældigt jeg kiggede ned, men med vilje jeg blev
ved med at stirre passioneret på mine krydsede ben.
Folderne i bukserne – hvilken en labyrint af endeløs
signifikant kompleksitet! Og det grå stofs struktur –
hvor rigt, hvor dybt, hvor mystisk, fantastisk og her
gentog det hele sig igen i Botticellis billede. Billederne
hedder Aldous fordi de handler om at fortabe sig i
fuldstændig koncentration – fuldstændig ubevidsthed og
dermed finde mening og skønhed i noget, der umiddelbart
er meningsløst og gennemsnitligt ligegyldigt.
Huxley beskriver hvordan strukturen fra hans bukser,
bliver gentaget i et Botticelli billede og det relaterer til
min interesse i, hvordan de samme former og mønstre
gentager sig selv i alting. Jeg er klar over, at jeg i den
forbindelse lægger mig op af et syn på kunstneren, der
er anakronistisk og i bedste fald bliver set som en kliche.
Men jeg mener at det der sommetider ”gør” en kunstner
eller det der får et menneske til, at ville beskæftige
sig med at lave kunst er, at de ser verden og verdens
detaljer, som om de var på et konstant meskalin trip.
Mindstills tegningerne hænger tæt sammen med
Aldous malerierne, de er hvad der fremkommer med
sort tusch, papir og stream of consciousness - automattegning.
De hedder Mindstills, fordi de er et still af, hvad
der gik igennem mit hoved, lige på det pågældende
tidspunkt jeg tegnede tegningen. Det er en frekvens og
et univers jeg kan gå ind i og hvor jeg godt kan lide at
være. I Mindstills er der fyldt med en masse gamle fjernsyn,
radioer, søm, skruer, lyspærer men også engang i
mellem drager, monstre og træhuse (dem man bygger
i træer ikke huse lavet af træ). For mig er Mindstills på
sin vis et drengeunivers af ledninger, søm og at skille
et ur ad alene for at se hvordan det ser ud indvendigt.
Når jeg tegner Mindstills er det som at være i en drengs
univers, der går langs floden med intet ærinde andet end
at gå på opdagelse og se sten eller træer og lade som
om de er drager eller, som gamle mænd der samler på
alt for mange gamle fjernsyn, alene fordi de synes de er
spændende.
Serien Irmgard’s Journal / Baby Suggs Rag Rug er
tegninger fra mit liv blandet med pop kultur og med
”højkultur” som fx litteratur. Den Franske Løjtnants
Kvinde er titlen på en af tegningerne, som blander mit
personlige liv med en postmodernistisk roman. Det er
relationen mellem historie og Historien der er det centrale
i Irmgard’s Journal/Baby Suggs Rag Rug, refererer
til min dagbog (engelsk oversat er dagbog ”journal”).
Det er ikke en kronologisk dagbog men en springende
fortælling fra tidlig barndom til nu. Baby Suggs er en
karakter i romanen Elskede af den amerikanske forfatter
Toni Morrison. Baby Suggs er en gammel tidligere
slave, der har trukket sig tilbage til sin seng, fordi hun
har mistet troen på ord og på Ordet. Så hun tilbringer
det sidste af sit liv i sin seng, trukket tilbage i sin egen
verden med kun at tænke på og se på farver. Hver dag
ser hun på en ny farve og udforsker den: Gud undrede
hende og hun skammede sig for meget til, at sige det.
Så hun gik i seng for at tænke over tingens farve. ”Jeg
vil tænke på noget harmløst i verden” sagde hun og
bortset fra lejlighedsvis at spørge efter en farve, sagde
hun ingenting hun var bragt til tavshed af farve. ”Gi
mig noget lavendel hvis du har noget, pink hvis du ikke
har” Og Sethe ville gøre som hun sagde lige fra at vise
hende farven på sin egen tunge. Det tog hende lang
tid at blive færdig med blå, så gul, så grøn. Hun var
godt i gang med pink da hun døde. Rag Rug – kludetæppe,
referer til den amerikanske tradition hvor hver
kvinde i hver generation broderer og syr sin historie på
en lap, der så sættes ind i patchworktæppet, for hver
kvinde er der en historie der samlet i tæppet bliver Historie.
Irmgard’s Journal /Baby Suggs Rag Rug består af
40 x 40 cm tegninger, de har samme størrelse og de er
kvadrater ligesom lapperne i kludetæppet. Hvert kvadrat
er en historie, nogle fortalt meget direkte og andre mere
indirekte.
Den overdrevne brug af farve på tegningerne gør dem
både udholdelige og uudholdelige, for mig har den overdrevne
brug af farve gjort det udholdeligt at fortælle og
vedblive med at fortælle en autobiografisk historie. Det
uudholdelige ligger i, at farver eksisterer uanset hvad,
uafhængigt af hvad der sker for og med os – livet ophører
ikke med at være i farver, når tragedien indtræffer.
Jeg læste engang en historie om en soldat fra første verdenskrig:
han er efterladt i live og uskadt på slagmarken,
efter kampen går han rundt på slagmarken mellem lig
og lemlæstede og ser til sin gru at solen skinner i våben
metallet, blodet er meget rødt og græsset er meget
grønt og at skønhed ikke ophører med at eksistere. Der
er en lignende passage i Toni Morrisons Elskede, hvor
en tidligere slave Paul D er i fortvivlelse, fordi han ser
på Amerikas farver og ikke kan gøre andet end at elske
Amerika, til trods for, hvad det land har gjort ved ham.
Det kan umiddelbart virke usmageligt malplaceret at
bringe pop-ikoner, som fx Elvis ind i de tegninger (eller
Hendrix eller Willie Nelson), men hvis de er der, er det
fordi, at fx Elvis eller rettere ikonet af Elvis engang havde
en personlig betydning for mig og sammenblandingen illustrerer,
hvordan alting sker samtidigt (historie, Historie,
popkultur, krige), og hvor vores fatteevne står af.
Billedsproget i Irmgard’s Journal/Baby Suggs Rag
Rug, ligger meget tæt op af William Blakes tegninger
og illustrationer. Blakes tegninger er også psykedeliske
akvareller og hans tegninger er ofte blevet beskyldt for
at være for meget for lukkede og for personlige, pga. det
der er blevet kaldt hans egen excentriske og snirklede
mytologi. Titlen fra Aldous Huxleys Erkendelsens Døre,
kommer fra Blakes Ægteskabet Mellem Himmel &
Helvede: ”Hvis erkendelsens døre var rensede ville alt
fremstå som det er – infinit. For mennesket er lukket
indtil han ser alt gennem de smalle spækker i sin
grotte.” Illustrationerne i Ægteskabet Mellem Himmel &
Helvede, nogle af de Blake illustrationer der ligger tættest
på mine tegninger i Irmgard’s Journal/Baby Suggs’
Rag Rug og dermed er der mere end én forbindelse
mellem, mine tegninger Irmgard’s Journal/Baby Suggs’
Rag Rug og mine Aldous malerier.
Der er en forbindelse mellem mine ting, der binder
dem sammen. De tilsyneladende forskellige stilarter jeg
arbejder indenfor, er alle, min undersøgelse af maleriet.
Forskellige stilarter indenfor maleri kan have den
samme kvalitet/atmosfære lige som indenfor musik; man
kan tage et stykke af Chopin, som vil have en identisk
kvalitet/atmosfære, som en Dolly Parton sang eller et
Sonic Youth-nummer. Det er ikke musikstykkets eller
billedes stil eller genre, der er vigtig men autenticiteten.
Contact:
mariesmail@msn.com
www.mariemgard.com

UK: In a Manner of Speaking:
5 questions for Marie Irmgard asked
by art historian Sara Gjøde.
DK: Om at italesætte det ordløse:
5 spørgsmål til Marie Irmgard stillet
af kunsthistoriker Sara Gjøde.
their expression but nevertheless they have a multitude of
layers both visually and in their content.
When it comes to color, you work in a diametrical
opposite: almost monochrome scale in some
works, while in others you use the full color scale.
Why is that?
It is about a general interest in color, both as in Itten and
Goethe and color as something existential. In some of the
Irmgard’s Journal/ Baby Suggs’ Rag Rug drawings there
are so many colors that they almost become meaningless.
In others, the colors are used in disharmony and it is
intentional that they don’t always function, while in others
I leave some white space (paper) that makes them easier
to look at. In my more monochrome works, I study one
color and its nuances: for instance, how many different
blacks can a black be? And how many different nuances
of grey are there? It is about zooming in close or zooming
far out and by that reaching the same result.
You experiment a lot with the many possibilities
of drawing and painting. Do you use the experiment
as a conscious work strategy?
I believe that one important difference between a visual
artist and a university academic is that, as a visual artist,
you can make statements without necessarily having to
document how you have come to your conclusions. I
think it is important that experiments are started out of a
curiosity to investigate, it shouldn’t be a play with one’s
own ability or “look how well I use the ink and look how
many ways I can use it” then it loses all meaning. My work
starts off as an experiment but ends up as an investigation;
one investigation almost always leads to more questions
in the shape of more pictures, paintings, drawings:
new projects and I see that as a benefit. Another benefit
of the experiment as a method is that it keeps me alert - it
keeps me seeing, it makes me insecure and sharp at the
same time.
tegningerne og malerierne er meget fladebetonede i
deres udtryk, men alligevel har de flere lag og dybder
både betydningsmæssigt og visuelt
Farvemæssigt arbejder du meget diametralt i en
næsten monokrom skala i nogle værker og i hele
farveskalaen i andre. Hvad er det udtryk for?
Det handler om en generel interesse for farver, både farve
som hos Itten og Goethe og farve som noget eksistentielt.
I nogle af tegningerne fra Irmgard’s Journal/ Baby Suggs’
Rag Rug ligger der fx et indhold i, at der er så mange
farver, at de næsten bliver meningsløse. En gang imellem
er farverne sat sammen i disharmoni, og det er med vilje,
at de ikke fungerer farvemæssigt. I andre af tegningerne
i den serie, lader jeg lidt hvidt (papir) stå, som gør dem
nemmere at se på. I de mere monokrome malerier undersøger
jeg én ”farve” og alle dens nuancer: Hvor mange
slags sort kan en sort være? Og hvor mange nuancer
findes der af grå? Det handler om at zoome helt ud eller
at zoome helt ind – for alligevel at nå til samme resultat.
Du eksperimenterer umiddelbart meget med værkets,
tegningens og maleriets (mange)muligheder. Bruger
du eksperimentet bevidst, når du arbejder?
Jeg mener, at en af forskellene mellem at være billedkunstner
og eksempelvis universitetsuddannet akademiker er,
at man som billedkunstner kan komme med udsagn uden
nødvendigvis at komme med alle mellemregningerne. Det
er vigtigt at eksperimenter er drevet af nysgerrighed efter
at undersøge, det må ikke blive en leg med ens kunnen
og ”se, hvor dygtig jeg er til at bruge tusch og hvor mange
måder, jeg kan bruge den på” så mister det al mening.
Mit arbejde starter som et eksperiment, men ender med
at blive en undersøgelse, en undersøgelse leder næsten
altid til (flere) spørgsmål i form af flere billeder, tegninger,
malerier – projekter – jeg ser det som et plus. Et andet
plus ved eksperimentet som metode er, at det holder mig
”vågen” – det gør, at jeg bliver ved med at se, det holder
mig usikker og skarp samtidigt.
Do you see it as a strength or a weakness that
your visual expression is so diverse?
I don’t see the diversity of my work as strength or weakness.
If there is one thing that I sometimes worry about
being a weakness, it is that my work has an immediate
visual appeal and that might cause it to be misunderstood
as mere aesthetics. But, diverse or not has nothing to
do with quality. It is not a weakness to paint pictures all
with the same expression, as Vermeer did, because he
did it so well. The same goes for Schnabel: his work isn’t
weak even though it is so chaotic at first glance. To me,
strength or weakness, artistically speaking is not decided
by the range of the production – it is decided by whether
your work is authentic or not. Whether you stand by your
works or you use theories and references and hypes as
a loophole. I use theory and I make references but they
don’t function as my safety net, my works are me before
anything.
What is the link between your seemingly different
expressions?
The link is that it is my observations, my works are observations
percolated through me. I believe that you can
see that in their aesthetics – you can tell that a painting
is painted by me no matter what style it is painted in. Another
link is that they all are studies and they don’t claim
to give or hold any definitive answers. I once said to my
professor in the academy that my works came about as if
I were a camera spinning round myself taking snapshots
of the world. She did not agree and I understand why she
didn’t, but it is still the best explanation I have to give.
Ser du det som en styrke eller en svaghed, rent kunstnerisk,
at du visuelt spænder bredt?
Jeg ser det hverken som en styrke eller svaghed. Hvis der
er en ting, jeg en gang imellem er nervøs for kan blive en
svaghed, er det, at mine billeder er så visuelt tilgængelige,
som de er - om det kan medføre, at de kan misforstås
som ren æstetik. Men spændvidden i en produktion siger
intet om kvaliteten. Det er ikke en svaghed at male billeder
hele livet med det samme udtryk som Vermeer, fordi han
gjorde det så godt. Omvendt er Schnabels arbejde jo
på ingen måde svagt, selvom det er umiddelbart kaotisk.
Styrke og svaghed, rent kunstnerisk, handler for mig om
autenticitet, og om man står bag sine værker, eller dækker
sig ind bag teori og referencer eller hypede stilarter og
retninger. Jeg bruger teori, og jeg refererer, men jeg dækker
mig ikke ind bag referencerne. Mine værker er først og
fremmest mig.
Hvad binder dine umiddelbart forskellige udtryk
sammen?
Det, at det er mine observationer - mine billeder er
observationer filteret gennem mig. Jeg mener, at man kan
se, at man kan se at mine billeder er malet af mig uanset
stilarten. Derudover har de det til fælles, at de alle sammen
er undersøgelser og ikke postulerer at give noget
endegyldigt svar. Jeg sagde engang til min professor på
akademiet, at jeg så mine billeder, som om jeg var et kamera,
der drejede rundt om mig selv og tog øjebliksbilleder,
snapshots, af verden. Det var hun ikke enig i, og jeg
forstår godt, hvorfor hun ikke var enig, men det er stadig
den bedste forklaring, jeg har.
The above article is made on the basis of a conversation
between visual artist Marie Irmgard and
art historian Sara Gjøde in connection with Marie
Irmgard graduating The Funen Academy of Fine
Arts, May 2010.
And what sets them aside from each other?
The investigation sets them aside from each other –
which investigation it is sets them apart and makes them
appear different and that is why many of my works are
divided into series by titles. But they have more similarities
than differences; in a sense, they are all ways of
putting obstacles in my own way. I cannot paint on top of
or fix my ink paintings; the same applies to the drawings.
I am interested in painting and in orthodox paradoxes that
I don’t manage to perceive or accept as truly being paradoxes.
That is expressed in the form; for instance both
the drawings and paintings are apparently quite leveled in
Ovenstående artikel er udarbejdet på baggrund af
en samtale mellem billedkunstner Marie Irmgard og
kunsthistoriker Sara Gjøde i forbindelse med Marie
Irmgards afgang på Det Fynske Kunstakademi, maj
2010.
Og hvad gør dem forskellige?
Det, der gør dem forskellige, er undersøgelsen og hvilken
undersøgelse, de er en del af. Mange af dem er inddelt i
serier og titler efter den pågældende undersøgelse. Men
de har flere ligheder end forskelle. De har alle et element
af benspænd. Jeg kan ikke male ovenpå eller redde fx
tuschmalerierne, det er det samme med tegningerne. Jeg
er interesseret i maleri, og jeg er interesseret i paradokser
– det som jeg ved er vedtagne modsætninger, men
som jeg alligevel ikke kan få til at være - eller acceptere
- som modsætninger. Det kommer til udtryk i formen;
Phillip
Drago
Jørgensen
113

Made and designed in China
and redesigned in Denmark,
2010
trækasse, spisepinde, saks,
cykelklokke, tigerbalsam, viske,
skummeske, forskellige farvede
kunstige sommerfugle / wooden
box, chopsticks, scissor, bicycle
bell, tiger balm, wok whisk, skimmer,
different coloured artificial
butterflies, 39 x 28,8 x 12 cm
Straw Machine, 2007
Øverste halvdel af makulator,
print på A4 papir / upper half
of paper shredder, print on
A4 paper, 14,5 x 28,3 x 14 cm

DK:
Statements af personer relateret til shipping
I shipping verdenen gælder det om at lave det, som man forventer af
en, så skibene sejler og bringer varerne til deres destination. Tingene
skulle derhen, hvor de skulle, og bagefter skal pengene også betales.
Nogle skibe skal chartres ud i længere tid, der skal skrives nogle
kontrakter, som man selvfølgelig overholder. På den måde skal man
regne med, at man har lavet nogle forretninger, selv om man for hver
forretning skal konkurrere med mange. Så konkurrenterne stod på
spring, og det var ikke altid, at det man havde lavet, var det, man fik
penge for, eller der var nogen, som stjal din kontrakt, stjal dine penge,
betalte dig ikke dine penge, så du stod som taber, selv om du i
dagevis havde arbejdet på den kontrakt.
I sidste ende kan du tabe handlen og blive snydt, så det kan være
meget hårdt arbejde. Det er hårdt at bruge lang tid på noget, som du
tror på, og du har lavet det færdigt, og så i sidste ende ikke få noget
ud af det. Men det kunne også ske, at man lavede en meget god
forretning og den lykkedes, og det kunne så bringe glæde til hele
firmaet og alle medarbejderne som kunne få tid til at slappe af og lave
noget andet.
Gode forretninger kunne give lidt mere ro, fordi man kunne dække
udgifter, lønninger ovs. Med god forretning kunne man tillade sig at
have nogle dårlige forretninger, og hvis man fik nogle procenter af sin
forretning, en belønning for det færdige arbejde, det kunne gøre
arbejdet meget lettere og tilfredstillende. Man kunne måske planlægge
at købe nogle ting, man gerne ville have, rejse nogle steder hen,
investere i noget og være glad for det man laver.
Selvfølgelig var skatten høj på ens overarbejde, og det var mindre
motiverende, når man skulle betale høje skatter af det, man havde
arbejdet så hårdt for, du havde måske siddet hver aften og brugt dine
weekender også. Det var hårdt arbejde for at nå så langt, men på den
anden side, hvis du så har arbejdet hårdt og regnet med det du skal
have og lavet planer og så blive rigtig snydt, fordi folk lurer et eller
andet sted, og de vil alle sammen have en del af kagen, som du har
bagt, og de skulle allesammen tjene lidt ved siden af, så kunne du
risikere at tabe det hele. Selvom du har lavet det bedste, du kan, og
du ved, at du har lavet det, og du ved det er dit, så kan du alligevel
blive snydt.
Du kan intet gøre, du kunne måske gå rettens vej og det kunne tage
lang tid, og du har måske ikke penge til at forfølge folk, som har snydt
dig, og på den måde kan du havne i en uheldig situation, og så hvis
man har sin egen forretning. At du faktisk har tabt alt, hvad du har
arbejdet for, og du har troet, at nu har jeg nået så langt at jeg kan
slappe af, så har du tabt det hele og dit liv vender sig mod dig. Alt det
du har lavet, bliver som en klods om dine ben, for du har ikke noget
som helst.
Det kan være hårdt, og hvis man ikke er stærk nok, så kan man ikke
overleve sådan noget. Der er flere eksempler på folk, som er gået
totalt ned i forbindelse med det. Selvfølgelig, på lang sigt kan det
koste dig livet, på grund af stress og ærgelse. Især ærgelsen af, at du
kan ikke få det, du har tabt og du ved, at du har ret og at det er dig,
som har lavet arbejdet og sådan går det i en tid.
Der er ups and downs, det er normalt i shipping, det er ikke noget nyt
for nogen, men et af de der tilfælde, hvor du mister det, du har og
lykken, det har været hårdt. Det kan være din skæbne, det kan bringe
dig og din familie i en situation, som du ikke selv kan magte. Det er
hårdt, for man øver sig ikke hele livet for at arbejde hårdt og så ikke få
noget ud af det. På den konto kan du måske også tabe eller miste
dine fantastiske venner, som var dine forretningsvenner. Pludselig har
de ikke brug for dig, for forretningen er der ikke mere. De muntrer sig
over din situation. Der var gode venner og “venner” som glæder sig
over, at det ikke går dig særlig godt. De kan så fortsætte der hvor du
stoppede, og dem der har snydt dig, de har solgt kontrakterne og lavet
et nyt selskab, og de kører videre på det du har skabt, men du kan
ikke komme ind igen, fordi projektet er lavet om så mange gange, så
du har ikke chance for at blive en del af det igen.
Mange ting kan virke legale selv om de ikke er legale, og hvem
beskytter dig? Folk kan kun drage konklusioner, du skulle ikke have
gjort sådan eller du er ikke klog nok. For man står uden noget som
helst, og folk kan så tænke hvad de vil. Man ved hvor man selv står, og
man har en høj moral.
Når man arbejder i den store verden kan det være en skuffelse hvis
man finder ud af, at man har arbejdet med folk, som ikke var ærlige.
Nogle folk er blacklistede så dem ved man, at man ikke kan arbejde
med, men nogen er ikke blacklistede, og det bliver de aldrig! For de er
snedige, og snu, som gør det sværere at navigere.
Sådan en forretning som er stor og lykkes, en millionforretning man
har arbejdet et halvt år på eller måske længere, der involverer mange
mennesker, som har arbejdet hårdt, at miste den forretning, det kan
virkelig knuse en hel familie, og få en til at tænke sig om og spørge sig
selv om, hvad jeg egentligt har brugt mit liv på. Hvis jeg er på toppen
af min karriere, har jeg virkelig arbejdet for at miste det hele, så
overvejer man om det er betingelserne i shipping. Det er måske
reguleret mere i dag, men jeg tror konkurrencen er så stor i dag både
hjemme og i udlandet, at det ikke er så nemt og sådan en oplevelse
har rystet en hel familie, til sidst bliver man så syg, at man dør af det!
Statements af personer relateret til shipping
Hvis man har haft nogle skibe, som man har bygget, skulle man til
stabelafløbning. Der mødte man folk, som havde med det at gøre, folk
som byggede skibe, ejede skibe, folk som ville involvere sig senere
med at arbejde på skibene og alle andre gæster fra alle steder i verden.
Det var en dejlig oplevelse at se arbejdet var gjort, og endelig stod man
med et færdigt skib, og dem som havde bygget skibet var der også.
Ejerne såvel som arbejderne medvirkede i en slags fest, men
selvfølgelig blev der altid holdt fest i forbindelse med stabelafløbningen.
Folk var klædt pænt på for det hørte til, og de var sat ved forskellige
borde. De fik pladser alt efter hvem som var vigtigst, og man kunne
konversere om forskellige ting og sager. Der blev holdt tale, der blev
snakket med folk man vil udvikle forretning med, det var et sted med
folk som kendte eller ikke kendte hinanden, det var en del af business.
Man mødte forskellige repræsentanter, på den måde lærte man folk at
kende. Folk vidste hvordan man opførte sig, og hvad det drejede sig
om. Man ville planlægge rejser rundt om i verden for at repræsentere
de nye skibe, de forskellige rederier, for derved at møde mennesker,
som du skulle arbejde med, og selvfølgelig gik man ikke i cowboybukser,
men man skulle se ud som alle de andre i branchen, man skulle
have et ordenligt jakkesæt, slips og skjorte, måske et firmaslips.
Man skulle investere en del penge, da man skulle se ud som en
forretningsmand som man kan stole på. Ens udseende var koblet til det
arbejde man lavede, så man var troværdig og man boede på ordentlige
hoteller, man boede ikke i et slumkvarterer, da man repræsenterer
firmaet og produktet, for ens kunder kunne komme på besøg, hente en,
og de vidste hvor du boede. Det var en del af at repræsentere et firma.
Ideen bag repræsentation betyder igen, at folk kan mødes. Det er
dejligt at se folk i øjnene og se hvem har jeg egentligt med at gøre. På
den måde kunne man lave forretninger med den person, du har
bedømt personen og har opnået en personlig kontakt.
Man talte ikke om forretning under middagen og næste dag kunne
man tage telefonen og lave en forretning. Så repræsentation kunne
bringe folk tættere sammen og på den måde kunne man arbejde ti til
tyve år med de samme mennesker, for man stolede på hinanden, som
også var tilfældet her, det var folk man havde kendt i mange år.
Selvfølgelig var repræsentation ikke altid så formel. Så man kunne
også tale om andre emner, man kunne måske gå en tur, man kunne
spise en burger, hvis det var en meget god ven, men det var
selvfølgelig noget man gjorde i sin fritid.
Man kunne også repræsentere der hvor man havde sine konkurrenter.
Der kunne man se dem i øjnene, måske på en anden måde eller samle
folk sammen fra forskellige firmaer, som måske ikke var så vilde med
hinanden, men de kunne se, at de allesammen var i samme båd. Det
var en god mulighed for folk at lære hinanden bedre at kende. I det
forum kunne man lave nogle bånd imellem, men det afhang af hvem
som turde sætte konkurrenterne sammen. Man kunne også tage de
yngre fra firmaet til repræsentationer, så man kunne lære dem hvordan
tingene endelig foregik og lære dem om tålmodighed. De skulle måske
møde folk flere gange inden de kunne lave forretning.
De yngre medarbejdere kunne mødes med de erfarende forretningsfolk,
og lære af dem, og de kunne blive accepteret selv om de ikke
havde særlig meget erfaring.
Et andet scenarie var at man havde lavet forretning og folk ville gerne
have deres del af kagen. De havde arbejdet, så de var glade hvis du
kunne invitere dem ud, så de kunne drikke og spise og glæde sig over
det, eller simpelthen føle at du skyldte dem noget. De ville gå ud og
hygge sig for din regning. Man kunne måske ikke sige noget andet
end okay, det kan også gå over gevind. Man blev nødt til at sige stop
og gå hjem. Man kan altså også have ubehagelige oplevelser ved at
repræsentere.
Statements af personer relateret til shipping
Repræsentation er en meget stor del af shipping. I shipping gælder
det om at være udadvendt, og se ud som om man er den store i
selskabet, man ved hvad man laver og at man har styr på alt. Det går
meget ud på, at man går ud og spiser og drikker med sine kunder,
fejrer dem, sørger for at de ikke mangler noget, og så håbe på at de til
gengæld giver én en masse jobs. Stilen i shipping er, at man har
jakkesæt på, slips og man ser repræsentabel ud, så man altid er klar til
at sælge, fordi det man egentligt er, det er at være firmaets mand. Man
skal være i stand til at sælge firmaet 24 timer i døgnet, og helst så dyrt
så muligt. Jeg kan komme med et eksempel fra et firma jeg var ansat i.
Det var et stort firma hvor vi har været mange tusinde mennesker.
Firmaet inviterede menneskerne til et fodboldstævne i Firenze, hvor vi
var 800 mand, som skulle spille fodbold. Vi får spillet og hygget os og
efterfølgende er der så fest og middag i et stort sted ude ved havnen.
Det ligner et operahus. Vi var allesammen inviteret, der stod vagter
med maskingeværer og de høje herrer fra firmaet jeg arbejdede hos,
de var også med til festen med deres egne bodyguards. Vi blev mindet
om, at de ikke var helt almindelige mennesker med fjender rundt om i
verden. Der var en del folk som var meget interesseret i at se dem, og
var interesseret i at vide hvem disse mennesker var, som stod bag
firmaet, hvordan de oplevede denne succes, og det er jo noget, man
bliver målt på i vor tids verden.
Der var et tidspunkt hvor vi skulle til middag, hvor vi kom ud til det her
sted. Det var dejligt og lækkert - 800 mennesker. Så ser vi lige
pludselig nogle af de høje herrer komme gående og bagerst kommer
der en pick-up kørende med et italiensk tv-hold med fire mennesker
ombord. De tog billeder af cheferne, og jeg fik at vide, at vi var i
fjernsynet om aftenen. Det var åbenbart noget som blev vist i Italien.
Men det er jo et forretningsmiljø, hvor det at være den hårdeste det
gælder! Man skal være en hård forretningsmand, man skal helst ikke
vise for mange følelser, man skal kunne overskue det hele, være hurtig
i replikken, og arbejde for sit firma, og sørge for at der kommer penge
ind, for penge det er alt hvad det drejer sig om. Om det så er shipping
eller et andet erhverv, så er det nok også det samme. Men i shipping
der har penge en stor betydning. Jeg kan sige, at man som shipping-
mand har en pligt til at vise, at man er der, man gør alt for det firma
man arbejder for. Du skal opnå jobs, søge udfordringerne rundt
omkring. Man bliver presset til at gøre sit bedste, hvis du er god til at
performe under stress, så er det lige et arbejde for dig. Hvis man ikke
er det, kan man hurtigt blive ramt. Bottom line det er penge som det
drejer sig om.
Udadtil skal du virke som en, som har styr på det hele, indbyrdes i
shipping snakker man om arbejde, penge eller hurtige biler eller sport.
Det har ikke så meget med familie og venner at gøre, det er meget
overfladisk, hvilket jeg selvfølgelig er ked af, men det er den rå
forretningsverden. Det er en mandepræget verden, hvor kvinderne er
begyndt at få deres indtog, men man skal virkelig være hårdfør, og det
ligger ikke til kvinder, at være hårdfør på den måde. Så det et stadig et
erhverv med 90 procent mænd og 10 procent kvinder.
Når jeg ser tilbage skulle man være pæn i tøjet, udstråle at man var en
verdensmand, opføre sig pænt, være en god dreng, men i dag
arbejder jeg ikke i noget firma mere. Jeg er gået ned med stress, og
nok på grund af for høje krav indenfor den verden, og jeg har ikke
kunne få shipping til at stemme overens med de ønsker jeg har nu, i
mit liv. Så jeg er desværre stoppet der, men tak for gode otte år.
Empire of the Son
(detalje/detail), 2010

UK:
Statements by persons related to shipping
In the world of shipping it is all about doing what is expected of you
in order to make the ships sail and transport goods to their
destination. The goods are scheduled for a specific destination and
afterwards the money is to be paid. Some ships are chartered for a
long period of time, contracts are made and complied with, of
course.
In this way you should count on having done business, even though
you had to compete with many for every business transaction. Thus,
the competitors were ready to conclude this deal, too, and you were
not always paid for what you had worked on, or somebody stole
your contract, stole your money or did not pay you your money, so
you became the loser of the game even though you had worked on
the contract for many days.
In the end you can lose the deal and be cheated, so it can be very
hard work. It is hard to work a long time on something you believe in
and have concluded and then you do not get anything out of it. But it
might as well be that you have concluded a good deal and you have
succeeded, and it would then bring happiness to the whole
company and all employees could get some time to relax and do
something else.
Good business could give a little calmness because you could
cover your expenses, salaries etc. With good business you could
allow yourself some bad business and if you got percentages of
your business deals – a reward for the work done – it could make
work so much easier and rewarding. You could plan to buy things
you really wanted, travel somewhere, invest in something and be
satisfied with your work
Of course, taxes were high on overtime work and it was less
motivating when you had to pay high taxes for what you had worked
so hard on, as you might have been at work every night and
weekends, too. It was strenuous to get that far, and if you had
worked hard and counted on earning a lot of money and made plans
and then were cheated by people in the business as they all wanted
a piece of the pie that you had baked and they all wanted to earn
something on the side, then you could risk losing it all. Even if you
had done your utmost and you were aware that you could be
cheated anyway.
Empire of the Son
(detalje/detail), 2010
You may have no options – you could take legal action and it could
take a long time, and perhaps you do not have sufficient funds to
sue the people who have cheated you, and in that way you may end
up in an unfortunate situation, also if you have your own business.
You have actually lost everything you have worked for, and you
thought that now you had come so far and would be able to relax,
and then you have lost it all and your life turns against you. All you
have done is like a brick around your neck, because now you have
nothing.
It can be hard, and if you are not strong enough, you may not
recover from this ordeal. There are many examples of people who
have totally lost it. Of course, in the long run it can cost you your life
because of stress and aggravation. Especially aggravation, that you
cannot be compensated for what you are entitled to and it goes on
like this for some time.
There are ups and downs in shipping, it is not surprising, but when
you lose your possessions and fortune – that is the hardest
experience. It can be your destiny, and it may bring you and your
family in a situation beyond your control. It is hard because you do
not practice all your life, working so hard to see it all disappear. In
addition, you may also lose or be deprived of your fantastic friends
– your business friends. Suddenly they do not need you anymore,
because you are no longer a business partner. Your situation may
even satisfy them. There were good friends and “friends” that were
happy that you are not doing too well. They can continue where you
stopped and the ones who have cheated you have sold the
contracts and established a new company and they prosper on
what you have created. You cannot get into the game again because
the work project has been changed so many times that you do not
stand a chance to be a part of it again.
A lot of things seem legal even if they are not legal and who can
protect you? People can only draw conclusions - you should not
have done it in that way or you are not smart . However, you have
nothing and people can speculate as much as they want. Your
standpoint is clear and you have high moral values.
When working abroad it may be disappointing to realize that
business partners are dishonest. Some people are blacklisted and
it is easy to avoid working with them, but some are not blacklisted
and they never will be! They are deceitful and cunning which makes
it difficult to navigate. The deal, which is big and promising, a
million-dollar-deal, you have worked on for half a year or maybe
longer, which involves many people, who have also worked hard.
To lose that deal can really destroy a whole family and make you think
and ask yourself, what is it really that I spent my life on. If, at the top
of my career, I have worked to lose it all you may wonder if these are
the terms of shipping. Maybe it is more regulated today, but I think
the competition is keener today at home and abroad. It is not so easy
and this kind of experience has shaken a whole family, in the end you
become so sick that you die of it!
Statements by persons related to shipping
After the completion of the shipbuilding you went to the launching
and met people who had worked in this line of business, people
who built ships, owned ships, people who were involved in working
on these ships later on and other guests from countries around the
world. It was a wonderful experience to see that the work had been
done, and finally you had a completed vessel, and the shipbuilders
were present. Owners as well as workers were participating in a
party, but of course the party was held in connection with the
launching of the ship. People were neatly dressed because it was a
part of it and they sat at different tables. They got their seats
depending on who was important and different issues were
discussed. A speech was held, there were conversations with
people you might want to start business with. It was a place with
people who knew or did not know eachother, it was all part of
business. One met different representatives and in that way people
got to know each other. People knew how to behave and what it
was all about. Travels would be arranged around the world to
represent the new ships, the different companies and in order to
meet people you were to work with and, of course, you did not wear
jeans, but was attired as everybody else in the business - a proper
business suit, a tie and a shirt, maybe a company tie.
You had to invest a lot of money to be dressed like a businessman
radiating trust. Your appearance was connected to your work and to
be trustworthy you stayed in upscale hotels, not in less attractive
neighborhoods, when representing a company and product properly,
because customers could pay you a visit, pick you up and they knew
where you stayed. It was part of representing the company.
The idea of representation is for people to meet. It is lovely to look
people in the eyes and see who you are really dealing with. In that
sense you could do business with that person, you could assess the
person and achieve personal contact. There was no talking business
during dinner and the next day one could pick up the phone and do
business. So representation could bring people closer together and
in that way you could cooperate ten to twenty years with the same
people, because you trusted each other, as you had known each
other for many years. Of course, representations were not always
that formal. You could also speak about other things, you could go
for a stroll, you could eat a burger if it was a very good friend, but of
course that was something you did in your spare time.
Representations with competitors could also take place. There you
could look them in the eyes, maybe in a different way or meet people
from different companies, who were not so fond of each other, but
they could see that you were all in the same boat. It was a good
opportunity for people to get to know each other. In that forum you
could establish relations, but it depended on who dared put the
competitors together. You could also bring the young employees
from the company to the representations to teach them how things
really worked and teach them patience. They were to meet people
several times before they could do business. Young employees could
meet the experienced business people and learn from them and they
might be accepted even if they had not got much experience.
Another scenario could be that you had concluded a deal and
people wanted their piece of the pie. They had worked on it, so they
were glad if you took them out, so that they could drink and eat and
be amused or simply feel that you owed them something in return.
They wanted to go out and enjoy themselves on your expense. You
would feel compelled to accept it and it could be too much. You had
to say stop and go home. You could have unpleasant experiences
with representation.
Statements by persons related to shipping
Representation is a big part of shipping. In shipping you are
expected to be outgoing and look as if you are one of the big guys
at meetings, you are expected to know what you are doing – be on
top. Representation is a lot about going out, eating and drinking with
customers, entertaining them, making sure that they are not missing
anything, hoping that in return they will give you a lot of jobs. The
style in shipping is to wear a suit, a tie and look presentable, always
be ready to sell, because what you really are is the company’s man.
You have to be able to sell the company 24 hours a day and preferably
as expensively as possible. I can illustrate this with an example
from a company where I was employed. It was a big company, where
we were several thousands of people. This company invited people
to a football tournament in Florence where we were 800 men playing.
We played and enjoyed ourselves and afterwards there was a
party and also a dinner in a big place next to the harbor. It looked
like an opera house. We were all invited and there were guards with
machine guns and the big bosses from the company I worked for
were also there at the party with their own bodyguards. We were reminded
of the fact that they were extraordinary people with enemies
worldwide. There was a crowd of people who were interested in
watching them and wanted to know who were the founders of the
company, how they perceived their success, as this is something
you are measured by in today’s world.
There was a time when we went to a banquet where we came to
this place. It was marvelous and cosy – 800 people. Suddenly we
saw the big bosses strolling and behind them there was a pick-up
truck with an Italian television crew with four men. They took photos
of the bosses and I was told that we were broadcasted on television
that night. It was obviously something that was shown in Italy. But it
is a business environment where to be the toughest is what counts!
You are expected to be a tough businessman, not display too many
feelings, be able to grasp the whole thing, have a sharp tongue and
work for your company and make sure to make money, as money is
what counts. Whether it is shipping or any other business, it is most
likely the same. But in shipping money is of paramount importance.
I can say that, as a shippingman, you are to be present and do your
utmost for the company you are working for. You are to obtain jobs,
accept challenges everywhere. You are pressured into doing your
best, and if you are good at performing under pressure this is the
job for you, if not, you can quickly be strongly affected by it. Bottom
line is it is all about the money.
Externally you are to present yourself as a man in control, internally,
in shipping, you talk about work, money or fast cars or sports. It is
not so much about family or friends, it is very superficial which I feel
bad about, but that is the raw business world. It is mostly dominated
by men, however, women are beginning to enter this line of business,
but you are to be really hard and it is not woman’s nature to be
hard in that sense. So it is still a business with 90 percent men and
10 percent women.
Looking back I was always expected to be properly dressed, to show
that I was a man of the world, to behave nicely, be a good boy, but today
I do not work for a company anymore. I am suffering from stress
and probably because of the high standards in that world, as I could
not make shipping correspond with the wishes I have in my life now.
So, unfortunately, I stopped, but thanks for eight good years.

DK:
Empire of the Son
John Doe: Hvad arbejder du på lige nu?
Phillip: Mine nuværende værker (installation, blandede medier) tager
fat om sociale strukturer i shippingindustrien. Gennem den maritime
historie (mest mandsdomineret) har shippingindustrien skabt et
netværk af sociale, politiske og økonomiske bånd mellem nationer.
Udviklingen af handelsvaremarkedet og shipping går hånd i hånd.
I en verden, hvor betegnelsen “Cargo is King” har vi set billigere
fragtrater, en stigning i skibsstørrelser og i mængden af handelsvarer
fragtet rundt i verden, hvilket skaber den globale økonomi, som vi
kender den. Shipping har ændret hele den måde, vi lever vores liv
på, og industrien ekspanderer kontinuerligt markedet.
JD: Hvordan ser du så kunst i forhold til shipping og dens
globale økonomiske indflydelse?
P: I dag er den globale økonomi afhængig af den højt udviklede
shipping-infrastruktur og de dedikerede folk, som får hele maskineriet
til at køre. Kunsten som en markedsplads har også udviklet sig i den
forstand. Du kan sige, at kunstmarkedet og dets interne mekanismer
af udbud og efterspørgsel imiterer og fungerer på forskellige niveauer
som den globale økonomi. Før og efter har vi set finanskrisens
globale påvirkning, som har ført til en ændring i kunstmarkedet til det
bedre og det dårligere. Før krisen lignede prisen på kunstværker fra
forskellige kunstnere prisen på at få bygget et skib. Shippingindustrien
er også vant til lav- og højkonjunkturer, og nogle firmaer lukker,
nogle kommer sig eller konsoliderer sig, lidt ligesom de forskellige
spillere på kunstmarkedet. Så på den måde ligner de virkelig
hinanden. Kunst og shippingforretningen bliver udført inden for de
favorable vilkårs dialektik mellem de forskellige spillere på markedet.
JD: Så hvad er din inspiration til og idé bag tilblivelsen af
Empire Of The Son?
P: Min bedstefar arbejdede hele sit liv på et skibsværft, som lukkede
ned for nogen år siden. I dag har Danmark lukket næsten alle skibsværfter,
og en æra i dansk skibsbyggeri udfases. Min far arbejdede,
som skibsmægler rundt om i verden, hvilket betød mange rejser
og ophold i udlandet. Måden de levede deres liv på har inspireret
mig på forskellige niveauer. Jeg blev forberedt på at følge i mine
fædres fodspor, jeg besøgte forskellige virksomheder i Danmark og
i udlandet, men forskellige omstændigheder førte mig til at studere
ved Det Fynske Kunstakademi. Man kunne sige, at titlen Empire Of
The Son opsummerer mit potentiale inden for shipping, som aldrig
blev til noget, men den refererer også til den overordnede klassiske,
sociale struktur af herkomst og historien om individets nedarvede
placering i samfundet. Jeg kan huske fra år tilbage, at jeg arkiverede
telexer i Det Østasiatiske Kompagni i København. Telexpapiret
havde forskellige lag af farvet papir. Jeg distribuerede og arkiverede
papirerne i kontoret, på borde og i arkivskabe. Så man kan sige,
at som kunstner i denne sammenhæng, så har arkiveringsprocessen
medvirket til at udfylde det mellemrum eller tomrum af min ikke
virkeliggjorte rolle i shippingverdenen. Personligt er det en cirkel som
bliver en sammenkædning af herkomst.
JD: Hvorfor er det så vigtigt at arbejde med sociale strukturer?
P: Ser man tilbage, skulle jeg allerede have haft en succesfuld
karriere i shipping, men jeg har altid undret mig over, hvorfor man
ville arbejde med “no cure no pay” princippet inden for shipping. Og
hvorfor spiller shipping ikke en mere dominerende rolle i samfundets
bevidsthed? 90 % af verdenshandlen håndteres af shipping. Det
betyder meget magt i denne verden. Jeg er af den opfattelse, at en
af grundene til, at ingen tænker på dette, er, at shippingmiljøet er
et lille og lukket miljø. Folk i denne branche sammen med politikere
og bankfolk lever alle godt af dette usynlige kraftcenter. Sjovt nok
har jeg aldrig hørt et barn i Danmark, som har sagt: “jeg vil være
skibsreder”. Men selvfølgelig, det at vælge at arbejde med shipping
er en livsstil, og du skal have en god, strategisk sans og finansielt
eller politisk et overblik, som kan beskytte dig og dine bestræbelser.
Selvfølgelig kender folk til malerier eller billeder af skibe, somaliske
pirater i nyhederne og de store spillere i shipping, men bag hermetisk
lukkede døre finder du de virkelige sociale strukturer. Det menneskelige
ansigt af nutidens shipping inden for den kulturhistoriske
fortælling bliver sjældent åbenbaret eller fortalt, selv om vi lejlighedsvis
finder biografier skrevet om nogle af de mere succesfulde forretningsfolk.
Vi går gennem livet uden at tænke på, hvordan shipping
og relaterede emner som skatte- og råvarepolitikken påvirker folks
liv. Uden shipping kunne du lukke verdenssamfundet, som vi kender
det i dag, og det kapitalistiske system ville være svært at opretholde.
Jeg er interesseret i at vise og arbejde med disse fortællinger om
menneskene bag scenetæppet. I denne kontekst spurgte jeg mig
selv, hvad der ville opstå, når man kiggede på ligheden og forskellen
af det semiotiske sprog, der roterer omkring opfattelsen af arken,
skibet, containeren, stabelafløbningens ritual og historien mellem
mand og maskine? Hvordan kunne dette slægtskab både personligt
og globalt intervenere, overskride, erstatte og sammenflette historie
i denne tidsperiode. En forståelse hinsides den kendte repræsentation
af traditionelle skibsmalerier og skibsmodeller gribes for at
frembringe social udvikling inden for den maritime forretningsrammebetingelse.
Jeg har førhen udført værker, som beskæftiger sig
med politiske og økonomiske emner, motiveret af de tider vi lever i,
men jeg opfatter dette værk som det mest personlige indtil videre.
JD: Hvordan ser din værkpraksis ellers ud?
P: Jeg ser for tiden på forskellige politiske og økonomiske temaer
lige fra generel værdisættelse, valuta/designpolitik, anæstesi/
anæstetik (det bedøvede samfund), dominans og sociale strukturer i
forretningsverdenen.
I andre sammenhæng bruger jeg kunsten som helintegreret performance
i bybilledet, så som værket ”beggars cup” - keep the change,
som udstilles på gaden med mig stående ved siden af.
Mine værker indeholder flere lag, som det er op til beskuerne at
tolke på hver deres måde. Mine anæstetiske overvejelser med det
bedøvende element ligger i en diskurs, som til dels kritiserer kunst
institutionen. Samfundet indeholder i dag et bedøvende (hukommelsesudfordret)
element. Dette vil jeg også gerne undersøge nærmere.
Jeg ser dette som arbejde under udførelse siden “marinebilledet”,
og det er så omfattende, at en grundlæggelse af diverse referencepunkter
behøves over tid for at antyde og navigere længere ind
i marinehistoriens horisont. Jeg foretrækker normalt at undersøge
og samarbejde med forskellige spillere for at skabe en platform til
mine værker. Det er derfor, jeg altid arbejder med blandede medier.
Således arbejder jeg med det materiale, som passer til kunstværkets
idé. For det meste har mine værker en masse lag, og jeg har specielt
beskæftiget mig med anæstetikken i samfundet i nogen tid. Kunstværkerne
har været vist som installationer ved forskellige lejligheder,
ikke altid synlig for øjet. Implicit i mine værker ligger diskussionen og
kritikken af forskellige politiske, sociale og økonomiske aspekter, og
det er mit mål at anspore dette i beskueren. Det er meningen, at min
kunst skal serveres på en sølvtallerken af ræsonnement, idet man
skal gøre mere end kun at gøre brug af blikket og begæret.

UK:
Empire of the Son
John Doe: What are you working on with right now?
Phillip: My current works (installation, mixed media) are dealing with
the social structures within the shipping industry. Through maritime
history (mostly dominated by men) the shipping industry has created
a network of social, political and economic ties between nations. The
commodity market and shipping go hand in hand as for development.
In a world where the term “Cargo is king” we have seen
cheaper freight rates, an increase in ship sizes and in the number of
commodities shipped around the world creating the global economy
as we know it. Shipping has changed the way we live our lives and
the trade is continually expanding its markets.
JD: How do you view art in the context of shipping and its economic
impact globally?
P: Today the global economy is dependent on the highly developed
shipping infrastructure and the dedicated people who “keep the
machinery running”. Art as a marketplace has developed in that
sense, too. You could say the art market and its internal mechanisms
of supply and demand mimic and function at different levels like
the global economy. Before and after the economic crisis we have
seen a global impact on the art market causing a change for better
or worse. Before the crisis the prices of artworks by different artists
nearly resembled the prices of shipbuilding. The shipping industry
is also used to recessions and booms and some companies close
down, some recover or consolidate like the different players in the
art market. So in that sense they are very much alike. The business
within art and shipping is done on a “grace-favour-basis” dialectic
between the different players on the market.
JD: So where did you get your inspiration and the idea for the
making of the "Empire Of The Son"?
P: My grandfather worked all his life at a shipyard which closed
down years ago. Today Denmark has closed most of its shipyards
and an era of Danish shipbuilding is phased out. My father worked
as a shipbroker worldwide which meant a lot of travelling and living
abroad. The way they lived their lives has inspired me at certain
levels. I was raised to follow in the footsteps of my father, visiting different
shipping companies in Denmark and abroad, but for different
reasons I started studying at The Funen Academy Of Fine Arts. One
could say that the title Empire Of The Son sums up my contemplation
regarding shipping that never took place, but it also refers to an
overall classic social structure of lineage and the history of individuals’
inherited positions in society. Years ago I remember filing telexes
at the headquarters of The East Asiatic Company in Copenhagen.
The telex paper had different layers of coloured paper. I distributed
and filed the papers in the office on tables and in filing cabinets. So
you could say that as an artist in this context the filing process has
returned to fill the gap or void of my unfulfilled role within the world
of shipping. Personally, I look at it as “the ring is closed”, a linkage
to lineage.
JD: Why is it important to work with the social structures?
P: Looking back I should now have a successful career in shipping,
but I have always wondered why one would work with the “no cure
no pay” principle within shipping. And why does not shipping play
a more dominant part in societys consciousness. I mean 90 % of
trade is handled by shipping. That means a lot of power in this world.
I think one of the reasons why nobody is thinking about this is that
the shipping community is a small and closed society. The people
of this trade together with politicians and bankers all live well of this
almost invisible powerhouse. It is surprising that I have never heard
of a child in Denmark claiming “I want to become a ship-owner”. But
of course choosing to work in shipping is a lifestyle and you have to
have a good strategic sense and financial or political overview that
can protect you and your endeavours. Of course, people know about
paintings or images of ships, Somali pirates on the news and the big
players of shipping, but behind hermetically sealed doors you find
the real social structures. The human face of today’s shipping in the
cultural, historical narrative is rarely revealed or told, even though,
occasionally, we have biographies written about some of the more
successful businessmen.
We go about our business without wondering how shipping and
issues related to tax or raw materials have an impact on people’s
lives. Without shipping you could close down the earth as we know
it and it would be hard to maintain our capitalistic system. I am
interested in showing and working with these narratives about the
people behind the curtain. Within this context I also asked myself
what might appear when looking at the similarities and differences
of the semiotic language revolving around the notion of the ark, the
ship, the container, the launching ritual and the history of man and
machine? How may this lineage, personally and globally, intervene,
transgress, supersede and intertwine history at this point in time?
An understanding beyond the known representation of traditional
ship paintings and ship models is achieved to further social development
within the maritime business frame. I have previously created
works dealing with political and financial subjects motivated by the
times we live in, but I perceive this work as the most personal until
now.
JD: Otherwise what does your line of work represent?
P: For the time being I am looking at different political and economic
themes from a general point of view, such as design, politics, anaesthesia/anaesthetics
(the soporific society), dominance and the social
structures in the world of business.
Besides, I use art as a wholly integrated part of the cityscape, like
the work “beggars cup” – keep the change, which is exhibited in the
street with me standing beside it.
My works include several layers, which are up the viewer to interpret
in a way that suits them. My reflections regarding the soporific
element are anchored in the discourse which partly criticizes the
cultural institution. Today, society contains a soporific (memory challenged)
element. I would like to look at this in detail.
I consider this a work in progress since the seascape is so vast that
an establishment of several reference points is needed over time
to allude and navigate further into the horizon of maritime history. I
normally prefer to do research and cooperate with different players
to create a platform for my artworks which is why I always work with
mixed media. So I work with materials that fit the idea of the artwork.
Mostly my works have a lot of layers and I have especially been
dealing with the anaesthetics within society for some time now. The
artworks have been shown as installations on different occasions,
not always visible to the naked eye. Implicitly in my works is the
discussion and criticism of various political, social and economic issues
and it is my objective to spur this in the viewer. My art is meant
to be served on a silver plate of reasoning, one has to do more than
just look and desire.

Contact:
phillip.joergensen@gmail.dk
125
Michael
Würtz
Overbeck

DK:
Michael Würtz Overbeck (f. 1982) arbejder indenfor et interdisciplinært
felt med tegning, objekter og rumlig installationer. Han søger
at dissekere det spændingsfelt, der ligger mellem virkelighed
og fiktion. I dette felt udforskes og fokuseres der på menneskets
iboende frygt og angst. Hans praksis er centreret omkring mennesket
og menneskets natur, hvor han trækker på forskellige områder
såsom psykologi, filosofi, populærkultur og samfundet generelt.
Dette udforskes i en tredimensionel kontekst, hvor beskueren udfordres
til at interagere kognitivt med værket.
UK:
Michael Würtz Overbeck (b. 1982) works within an interdisciplinary
field with drawing, objects and spatial installations. He seeks
to dissect the tension between reality and fiction. In this field fear
and anxiety are explored, which are inherent to human nature.
His practice is centred around the human being and the human
nature, and he draws on different areas such as psychology, philosophy,
pop culture and society in general. This is investigated in
a three dimensional context, where the spectator is challenged to
interact cognitively with the work.
I am conscious, 2010

DK:
Refleksioner relateret
til min praksis
eller
Om konstrueret virkelighed,
menneskets sociale
paranoia og dets angst
for samfundsstrukturerne.
I feltet mellem virkelighed og fiktion er der en tendens
til at trække en meget skarp grænse op, som deler og
separerer de to. Virkelighed er et og fiktion noget andet.
Men eksisterer denne skarpe grænse? Er alt egentlig
ikke bare en menneskelig konstruktion? Virkelighed
bliver fiktion. Fiktion bliver virkelighed. Det bliver en udflydende
gråzone, hvor virkelighed og fiktion hele tiden
bevæger sig ind og ud af hinanden, uden rigtig at tage
fast form. Derigennem opstår en konstrueret virkelighed.
Engang i mellem krøller virkeligheden sammen, og bliver
uoverskuelig, uigennemskuelig og uigennemtrængelig.
Er virkeligheden den samme, når man går fra et rum til et
andet? Verden er måske ikke som man forventede den
ville være, når man åbner en dør og kigger ind gennem
den? Og når man er gået gennem denne dør, er trådt
ind og kigger sig tilbage: er verden så den samme, som
dér, hvor man forlod den? Heri kan individets virkelighed
komme til at fremstå som et spind af sindstilstande: et
kort over sindet, som helt konkret manifesterer sig fysisk,
i individets omgivelser gennem dennes optik.
Vores erkendelse af verden er vores helt egen subjektive
opfattelse: hvordan ser vi verden? For gennem private
oplevelser, nysgerrighed, afsøgning og den selektive
personlige fortolkning af begivenheder bliver virkeligheden
formet, som ét og kun ét individ ser den. Virkeligheden,
som det enkelte menneske opfatter den, er
forskellig fra person til person. Dermed er det eneste vi
kan regne med vores egen virkelighedsopfattelse. Men
vi bliver som individer hele tiden påvirket af andre mennesker,
som er med til at influere på, hvordan vi erkender
verden. Derigennem bliver den enkeltes virkelighed en
kollektiv virkelighed, som alle har en vis enighed omkring
og indvirkning på. Derfor må ethvert individ som vil være
en del af og deltage indenfor denne fælles virkelighed
mere eller mindre indordne og underkaste sig denne
virkeligheds normer, for at denne virkeligheds fundament
forbliver stabilt. Dette er dog ikke nødvendigvis et
bevidst valg eller et valg overhovedet, men snarere en
ubevidst indordnen sig under samfundets normer.
Det enkelte individs subjektive bevidsthed bliver dermed
bevidst og ubevidst influeret og formet af dennes
forældre og deres normer, gennem andre personers
normer i den sociale omgangskreds, samfundets normer
generelt, retorikken hos disse mennesker, i medierne
og hos politikerne. Dette er med til at danne det enkelte
individ som person, og skaber nogle usynlige samfundsstrukturer,
som individet automatisk agerer inden for.
Men gennem denne konstante strøm af udefrakommende
indtryk og påvirkninger, som influerer på, hvordan
det enkelte individ erkender virkeligheden, kan man blive
påvirket i en retning, som man ikke altid kan opfatte som
positiv. For de samfundsstrukturer, som vi bliver født ind i
og er opdraget i, har vi ikke nødvendigvis nogen egentlig
kontrol over. Selvom man som individ gerne ville, kan
man ikke undgå at blive påvirket af disse samfundsstrukturer.
Som menneske kan man ikke nødvendigvis filtrere disse
udefrakommende påvirkninger fra, og de vil implicit
komme til at blive indlejret i én ubevidst. Så selvom man
rationelt og bevidst kan opdele eller filtrere, hvordan
man ønsker at erkende, samt agerer i virkeligheden og
hvordan man forholder sig til andre mennesker, vil disse
indlejrede påvirkninger - i hvis lys man ser andre, retorikken
om det ene eller andet - komme op til overfladen, og
skubbe en i den ene eller den anden retning og dermed
påvirke ens analyse og fortolkning af forskellige situationer
og hvordan man opfatter virkeligheden.
Den sociale paranoia manifesterer sig og indtræffer i det
øjeblik, man indser, at man er blevet ubevidst influeret
med samfundsstrukturer i form af nogle fordomme og
forudindtagede holdninger om personer eller begivenheder,
der ubevidst påvirker én i en anden retning end
man normalt og rationelt vil synes om. Det er i disse
konflikter mellem bevidste og ubevidste holdninger, at
der opstår et spændingsfelt, hvor de usynlige strukturer
kan blive synlige for det enkelte individ. For hvem er man
som individ; som menneske? Har man som menneske
nogen egentlig kontrol over hvem man er, og hvilke ydre
omstændigheder, som er med til at forme én? Disse
spørgsmål rejser nye, som: Hvad kan jeg som individ
overhovedet stille op, hvis “jeg ikke er mig, som jeg
gerne vil være og troede jeg var”, hvis der er en form
for udefrakommende kraft eller struktur, som ligger
fuldstændigt hinsides min kontrol, som kan have en
påvirkning på, hvem jeg er som enkeltstående person,
individ og menneske?
I skismaet mellem de bevidste og ubevidste normer ligger
en generel angst for disse samfundsstrukturer, som
ligger dybt i erkendelsen af, at man som individ er dybt
influeret af alle andre individer, der hele tiden rykker ved
og påvirker ens opfattelse af virkeligheden, og at man
ikke nødvendigvis har en kontrol over dette.

Hallway, 2009

UK:
Reflections related
to my practice
or
On constructed reality,
the social paranoia of man
and his anxiety of the
social structures
In the realm between reality and fiction, there is a
tendency to draw a very sharp line which divides and
separates the two. Reality is one entity, while fiction is
another. Does this sharp line however exist? Isn’t everything
just a man-made construction? Reality becomes
fiction. Fiction becomes reality. It becomes a blurry
grey area in which reality and fiction are constantly
intertwining without clearly manifesting themselves. A
constructed reality emerges through this.
Once in a while reality crumbles up and becomes confusing,
dense, and impermeable. Does reality remain
the same, when you walk from one room to another?
Perhaps the world is not what one expected it to be,
when one opened a door and peeped through it. And
having walked through the door, entered and looked
back, does one see the world as one left it? Thus, the
reality of the individual can come to appear as a web
of mental states a map of the mind, that explicitly manifests
itself physically, in the individual’s surroundings
through his or her optics.
As an individuals our recognition of the world is a
completely subjective perception of the world and how
we view it. Through private experiences, curiousness,
explorations, and selective personal interpretations,
reality is constructed, as one and only one individual
perceives it. Reality, as the individual person perceives
it is different from one person to the next. The only
perception of reality that can be trusted is hence, our
own. However, as individuals we are constantly influenced
by other individuals, which influences the way
we recognize the world. And thus is the individual’s
reality transformed into a collectively perceived reality
which everybody has a congruence and effect upon.
Therefore, any individual who wants to be part of and
act within the commonly perceived reality, must fit, and
subject oneself to this reality’s values, in order for the
reality’s foundation to remain stable. This is not necessarily
a conscious choice or a choice at all, but more of
an unconscious submitting to the social norms.
The individual’s subjective conscience is thus being
influenced, both consciously and unconsciously, by
his parents’ values, other people’s values in the social
sphere, society’s general values, the rhetoric of these
people, the media and politicians. This contributes to
the creation of the individual as a person, and creates
invisible social structures that the individual automatically
acts within. But through this constant flow of
exogenous impressions and influences that influences
how the individual recognizes reality it is possible to be
influenced in a direction that cannot always be said to
be positive. We do not necessarily have any actual control
of the social structures that we are born and raised
into. Even though one might like to, it is impossible not
to be influenced by these social structures.
As a human being it is not certain that one can disregard
these exogenous influences and they will implicitly
and unknowingly be imbedded in the individual. Even
though one can rationally and consciously separate
and filter the way one wishes to perceive reality, as well
as how one acts and relates to other individuals, these
imbedded influences – in which light we view others,
the rhetoric about one thing or the other – will surface
and sway one’s analysis and interpretation of different
situations in one way or the other, as well as one’s
perception of reality.
The social paranoia manifests itself and occurs in the
moment it is realized that one has been unconsciously
influenced by social structures taking shape as prejudices
and biased opinions about people or events that
unconsciously influences one in another direction than
one would normally and rationally prefer. It is in such
conflicts between conscious and unconscious positions
that tensions arise and enable invisible structures
to become visible for the individual. Who are you as
an individual: as a person? Is it even possible as an
individual to have any control over who you are and
which circumstances help to shape you? These questions
raises new questions such as: What can I, as an
individual even do if “I am not the person that I want to
be, and thought I was”, if there is some sort of exogenous
power or structure that is completely beyond my
control, which may have an influence upon who I am as
a person, individual, and human being?
In the schism between the conscious and unconscious
values lies a general anxiety about these social
structures which is embedded in the recognition of
the fact that as an individual, one is deeply influenced
by all other individuals who constantly influence and
move one’s perception of reality, and that one does not
necessarily have any control over this.

The Void, 2009

Contact:
mwoverbeck@jubii.dk / michaelwurtzoverbeck.dk
Pelle
Møller
Schiødt
137

DK:
I mine tegninger og malerier arbejder jeg med kontrasterende
form og farve som et grundlæggende visuelt
udtryk, hvor en livagtig, organisk og rumlig figur møder
det flade og ofte abstrakte mønster.
Kontrasten sigter på at udfordre afkodningen af mine
billeder, således at motivet ikke fører til en selvindlysende,
”automatisk” afkodning.
Min komposition varierer fra en enkelt centralt placeret
figur til en mere kompliceret komposition, der bryder
med rammen og det klassiske perspektiv i rum opbygningen.
Motiverne i mine værker er dels hentet fra omverdenen,
fx mytologiske og religiøse motiver, dels fra min egen
verden. Mine billeder kan delvist opfattes som stille billednedslag
i en flydende verden af oplevelser og tanker,
dvs. at mine motiver føjer sig ind i en mere kompliceret
sammenhæng eller forløb.
UK:
In my drawings and paintings I work with contrasting
colours and forms as a basic visual expression where
a lifelike, organic and spatial figure meets the flat and
often abstract pattern.
The contrast aims at challenging the decoding of my
works so that the subject matter does not lead to an
obvious, automatic interpretation or reading.
My composition varies from a single central figure
placed in a key position to a more complicated composition,
which breaks the frame and the classical
perspective in the spatial construction.
The motifs of my works come partly from the outside
world, for example mythological and religious motifs,
partly from my own world. My pictures may in part be
understood as still picture-impacts in a streaming mass
of experiences and thoughts, i.e. my motifs are inserted
into a more complicated context or progress.
Spilledjævelen, 2010, 31x75 cm

DK:
Træsnit
Jeg er fascineret af ældre illustrationer, fx Gustav
Dore’s illustrationer af Den Guddommelige Komedie
og Yoshitoshis arbejder med de mytiske Yokai-væsener.
Yokai stammer fra japansk folklore og er almindeligt
kendte tatoveringsmotiver også i den vestlige verden.
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi er en af Japans senere træsnitmestre
i genren ukiyo-e, han er bl.a. kendt for sine serier
Shinkei Sanjurokuten (36 Ghosts) og Tsuki Hyakushi
(”One Hundred Aspects Of The Moon”). Disse ældre
illustrationsmestre arbejdede med forskellige grafiske
teknikker, bl.a. træsnit. I mine træsnit arbejder jeg på at
skabe et personligt udtryk, samtidig med at jeg udnytter
træsnittets tekniske muligheder. Ved at bruge træsnit i
stort format kan jeg på en gang forenkle detaljerne og
beholde træsnittets rumlige egenskaber, mine kompositioners
særlige ”fladhed” træder på den måde tydeligere
frem. De former jeg arbejder med i mine skitser
og tegninger bliver således mindre tre- dimensionelle i
træsnittene, hvilket fremhæver kompositionernes andre
træk. Denne forenkling i det sort-hvide design, udfordrer
både mig og beskuerne til at prøve at opleve mine motiver
i et mere kompliceret perspektiv. Til afgangsudstillingen
har jeg valgt at bringe mine individuelle træsnit i en
sammenhæng, hvor deres fælles udtryk bliver tydeligere
og tilsammen danner et større samlet værk. Træsnittenes
narrative indhold giver på den måde flere muligheder.
I den kontekst har jeg tilstræbt en form for skulpturel
ophæng, hvor jeg arbejder med hele væggen og rummet
i en sammenhæng, der muliggør en yderligere visuel
dimension.
Maleriet
I mine tegninger og malerier arbejder jeg med kontrasterende
form og farve som et grundlæggende visuelt udtryk,
hvor en livagtig, organisk og rumlig figur møder det
flade og ofte abstrakte mønster. Kontrasten sigter på at
udfordre afkodningen af mine billeder, således at motivet
ikke fører til en selvindlysende, ”automatisk” afkodning.
Min komposition varierer fra en enkelt centralt placeret figur
til en mere kompliceret komposition, der bryder med
rammen og det klassiske perspektiv i rumopbygningen.
I mit maleri bruger jeg også forskellige grader af færdiggjorte
materialer som en kontrasterende metode; fx
noget skitseagtigt ved siden af felter med helt færdiggjort
oliemaling eller fladt farvelagte felter kontra felter,
hvor jeg bruger lys-skygge effekter til at skabe rum.
Min arbejdsproces er her inspireret af malerier, hvor
noget fremtræder klart og nylavet, mens andet er mere
utydeligt og mindre klart defineret, hvilket bl.a. kan ses
på halvt konserverede værker eller når man studerer
ældre værker med røntgen, således at de underliggende
skitser træder frem. I Sophiakirken i Kiev oplevede jeg
vægmalerier under restauration, hvor værkerne fremtrådte
med en halvfærdig karakter, der i virkeligheden
fremmede opfattelsen af deres narrative indhold, fordi de
perfekte færdige vægmalerier i højere grad forfører en til
at fortabe sig i detaljer.
Det mytologiske
Jeg er inspireret af mytologiske og religiøse motiver, fx
ikoner fra den ortodokse kirke, centrale motiver fra den
romersk-katolske kirke og fx Akseli Gallen-Kallelas arbejder
med det finske nationalepos, Kalevala og som nævnt
også den japanske mytologiske billedverden. En del af
disse motiver bruger jeg også i mine tatovørarbejder, her
vælger kunderne dog ofte, en personlig bearbejdning
af motivernes originale, symbolske indhold. Fx bruger
jeg Albrecht Dürers ”Betende Hände”, og har ændret
symbolikken ved at lade hænderne omslutte en mikrofon
eller ved over hænderne at skrive ”only God can judge
me” (på en hærdet kriminels overarm). Jeg har fx også
brugt de klassiske japanske yokai figurer i en æstetisk
sammenhæng uden deres klassiske symbolske indhold.
Indholdet
Motiverne i mine værker er dels hentet fra omverdenen,
fx de nævnte mytologiske og religiøse motiver, dels fra
min egen verden. Mine billeder kan delvist opfattes som
stillebillednedslag i en flydende verden af oplevelser
og tanker, dvs. at mine motiver føjer sig ind i en mere
kompliceret sammenhæng eller forløb.
Jeg søger at aktivere beskuerne til at træde ind i værkernes
narrative kontekst og være medskabende i deres
oplevelser af billederne. Jeg søger med mine værker at
skabe en åben fortælling, der på en gang er funderet i
det motiviske stof og i min og beskuerens verden. Mine
værker er altså ikke primært illustrationer af de lukkede
fortællinger, jeg bruger som delvis inspiration, men mere
herreløse fremstillinger, der er blevet til i min og beskuernes
verden. Det narrative indhold ændrer sig fra at være
led i en fast struktur til en mere, fri åben struktur.
Det betyder at jeg forsøger at være meget bevidst om
hvilke inspirationskilder, der er relevante i relation til den
følelsesmæssige og narrative situation, de skal føjes ind
i. Det skal siges, at jeg ikke altid er helt bevidst om, hvad
det er jeg forsøger at få frem, men at dette i høj grad
sker som en del af den kreative proces, som arbejdet
med værkerne altid er.
Storkene
Motiverne i mine arbejder opstår som en følge af en
proces, hvor visse inspirationskilder bearbejdes og kombineres
med tanker, forestillinger og andre mere eller
mindre tilfældige indtryk og indskydelser. De storkeagtige
fuglevæsener er dukket frem i min bevidsthed som en
følge af mit tatoveringsarbejde, hvor de japanske motiver
med traner og hejre ofte er blevet anvendt.
På et tidspunkt dukkede storken op, som det oplagte
nordiske svar på den japanske inspiration. Jeg begynder
så at skrive noter om storken og den mytologi og
symbolik, der ofte er knyttet til storken som billedmotiv.
Hertil noterer jeg de associationer, der falder mig ind,
Fx: storken kommer med de små – beholder storken
nogensinde børnene, opfostrer den dem så oppe i
rederne på toppen af skorstenen? Er det derfor den bygger
så højt oppe, at vi mennesker ikke kan se de babyer,
der er i reden? Afleverer storken ind imellem børnene
på de forkerte adresser? Kan storken senere kræve et
barn tilbage? Er storken ikke homoseksuelles og de
jomfrueliges (Jomfru Marie!) svar på bønnen om at få et
barn? I Danmark hører storken til i det fredelige og rolige
landskab uden for tidens stressende krav.
Og videre, storken spiser frøer; ja og døde fugle og dyr;
marabustorken er ådselsæder; kunne storken spise lig
efter en apokalyptisk katastrofe? Og måske så trives
bedre end nu sammen med os? Som man kan se er der
meget stof til et mytologisk storkemotiv. Til disse noter
tegner jeg små skitser for at fastholde de tilknyttede og
opståede visuelle forestillinger. Og til sidst har jeg en
forestilling om storkemotivet, jeg kan begynde at fæstne
i værket. En mellem storkefuglene - stærk, grådig og
elegant, med et mytologisk touch.
Fiskerbåden
To fiskere sejler deres lille robåd i stormvejr på havet. Et
dramatisk og dynamisk motiv jeg har været optaget af
i lang tid. Den ene mand i båden er bag årene i kamp
med de store bølger. Den anden er fangeren med harpunkanonen,
der er for stor i forhold til båden. De jager
et stort monsteragtigt væsen. I værket prøver jeg at stille
mig selv og dermed beskuerne nogle spørgsmål: Kan
båden klare uvejret eller vil den kæntre med mændene?
Kan menneskene klare uhyret eller vil det sejre? Hvorfor
er de sejlet ud i en båd, der er så lille, at deres ”fangst”
ikke kan fragtes hjem? Eller skal de simpelthen overvinde
uvejret og uhyret? Mens jeg arbejder med billedet
dukker flere spørgsmål end svar op.
Jeg noterer mig mit billedes referencer: Moby Dick, Thor
og Midgårdsormen, En verdensomsejling under Havet,
Pi’s liv, en plakat jeg har, hvor nogle vikingeskikkelser har
fanget noget, der kan ligne Loke i sin fugleham, malet af
Akseli Gallen-Kallela – alle noget der har inspireret mig
og som på en eller anden måde er i ”Fiskerbåden”.
Spilledjævelen
En gammel mand sidder på hug og spiller terninger mod
sig selv. Det er mørkt og det regner kraftigt. Den gamle
mand bliver ved med at tabe sit spil. På hans skulder
sidder en djævel; den har fire arme og hale. Den kravler
rundt på manden som en gekko. Djævelen prøver at
påvirke spillet ved at puste til terningerne. Den opildner
hele tiden manden til at spille videre. Den gamle mand
bliver ved med at tabe sit spil. Hvorfor spiller han videre?
Er det blot fordi, han bliver lokket til det og håber han på
et tidspunkt at vinde spillet? Kan man overhovedet vinde
dette spil og hvor mange gange har man så tabt før det?
Hvorfor tillader han den lille djævel at sidde hos ham og
drive sit spil med ham? Kan manden ikke gennemskue
djævelens intentioner eller har han behov for djævelen
som deltager i sit håbløse spil?
Den gamle mands problem med spillet minder om
andre problemstillinger, hvor den samme fejl nærmest
tvangsmæssigt bliver gentaget. Det rationelle ville være
at stoppe spillet fordi det er selvdestruktivt og formålsløst.
Djævelen er det i den gamle mand, der giver ham
tryghed og selskab, som han ikke magter at fjerne fra sit
liv, selv om det står klart, at han burde gøre det.
Jeg her i dette billede prøvet at få en slags teaterscene
frem, der viser en ludomanisk handling, men drejer
sig om noget generelt menneskeligt. Jeg har prøvet at
skildre situationen ved at bruge noget af den dramatiske
udtryksform, jeg har set i japansk træsnit.
Jeg håber, at beskuerne vil identificere sig med den
gamle spiller og læse mit træsnit ind i deres eget liv.

Fiskerbåd, 2010, 87x165 cm

Storkene, 2010, 81x121 cm

UK:
The Woodblock
I am fascinated by earlier illustrations e.g. Gustav Dore’s
illustrations of The Divine Comedy and Yoshitoshis works
with mythical Yokai-creatures. Yokai come from Japanese
folklore and are generally well-known tattoomotives, also
in our western world. Tsukiako Yoshitoshi is one of Japans
later woodblock/ukiyo-e masters, among other things wellknown
for his series Shinkei Sanjurokuten (36 Ghosts)
and Tsuki Hyakushi (One Hundred Aspects Of The Moon).
These older masters of illustration worked with different
graphic techniques including woodblock.
In my woodblocks I work at creating a personal expression,
making use of the woodblock’s technical potential. By using
woodblock at large size I can simplify details as well as
maintaining the woodblock’s spatial potentials, the specific
flatness of my creations appears in this way much clearer.
The shapes I work with in my sketches thus become
less three-dimensional in the woodblock, a fact that emphasizes
the other characteristics of my creations. This
simplification in the black-white design challenges both
me and the beholders to try to experience my motives in a
more complicated perspective.
For the graduate exhibition I have chosen to bring my
individual woodblocks in a context where their common
expression becomes clearer and altogether form a larger
work. In this way the narrative substance of my woodcuts
thus gives more possibilities. In the context I have aimed
at a kind of sculptural hang up, where I work with the
entire wall and the room connected together that results
in a further visual dimension.
The Painting
In my drawings and paintings I work with contrasting
colours and forms as a basic visual expression where a
lifelike, organic and spatial figure meets the flat and often
abstract pattern. The contrast aims at challenging the
decoding of my works so that the subject matter does not
lead to an obvious, automatic interpretation or reading.
My composition varies from a single central figure placed
in a key position to a more complicated composition,
which breaks the frame and the classical perspective in
the spatial construction.
In my paintings I also use different grades of ready-made
materials as a contrasting method for example something
sketch like next to areas with completely finished oil paint
or flatly coloured areas contra areas where I use light/
shadow space creating effects. My working process is in
this case inspired by paintings where one part is fresh and
clear and another is more blurred and less clearly defined.
That may be observed in partly restored works or studying
old works with X-rays so that the underlying sketches
appear. In the Sophia church in Kiev I experienced murals
being restored where the works appeared in a half
finished way that actually promoted understanding of the
narrative contents, because the perfectly finished murals,
to a higher extent, tempt you to be lost in details.
The Mythological
I am inspired by mythological and religious motifs: for
example icons from the Orthodox church, central motifs
from the Roman-Catholic church and Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s
works with the Finnish national-epos, Kaleva and as
already mentioned also the Japanese mythological visual
world/art. A good deal of these motives I also use in my
tattoo work, however here it is the customers who often
decide a personal arrangement of the original, symbolic
contents of the motifs. I use for example Albrecht Dürer’s
“Betende Hände” and have changed symbolism by having
the hands encircle a microphone or by writing across
the hands “only God can judge me” (of a tough offender’s
upper part of his arm). I have also used the classic
Chinese-JapaneseYokaifigures in an aesthetic context
without its classic symbolic content.
The Contents
The motifs of my works come partly from the outside
world, for example the mentioned mythological and religious
motifs, partly from my own world. My pictures may
in part be understood as still picture-impacts in a streaming
mass of experiences and thoughts, i.e. my motifs are
inserted into a more complicated context or progress.
I try to activate the beholder to step into the narrative
context of the work and being co-create experience of
the pictures. With my art I want to create an open story
that combines the motivic part with that of the beholder’s
world as well as of mine. My works are not primarily
illustrations of the closed tales that I partly use as inspiration,
but rather abandoned productions, that have grown
in my as well as the beholder’s world. The narrative
contents change from being part of a firm structure into a
more open and free one. This means that I try to be more
observant of which sources of inspiration that are relevant
in connection with the sensitive and narrative situation
they are inserted into. It has to be mentioned that I am
not quite conscious of what I try to get out, but that this
to a considerable degree happens as part of the creative
process that working with the works always will be.
The Gambling Devil
An old man is squatting and playing dice to himself. It is
dark and raining heavily. The old man keeps losing his
game. On his shoulder sits a devil; it has four arms and a
tail. It climbs all over the man like a gecko. The devil tries
to influence the game by blowing at the dice. All the time
it excites the man to go on playing. The old man continues
losing his game. Why does he go on playing? Is it only
because he is tempted to do so hoping that at one point
he will win the game? Is it at all possible to win this game,
and how many times must one lose before winning?
Why does he allow the little devil to sit next to him driving
his game on him? Is it impossible for the man to see
through the devil’s intentions, or has he got an urge to
have the devil as a partner in his hopeless game?
The old man’s problem with the game resembles other
cases where the same mistake is bound to be repeated.
The rational solution could be stopping the game because
it is self-destructive and purposeless. In the old
man the devil represents what gives him the peace and
company, something he is not able to remove from his life,
although he clearly ought to do so.
In this picture I have tried to make a sort of theatre-scene
that shows a gameaholic act, but actually is about something
generally human. I have tried to portray the situation
by using some of the dramatic modes of expression I have
seen in the Japanese woodblock. I hope the beholders
may identify themselves with the old player and see my
woodblock in their own lives.
The Storks
The motives in my work arise following a process where
certain sources of inspiration are processed and combined
with thoughts, imaginations and other more or less
random impressions and impulses. The storklike bird
creatures have appeared in my mind due to my tattoo
work where the Japanese motives with cranes and herons
are commonly used. At one time the stork appeared as
the evident Nordic answer to the Japanese inspiration. I
then commenced writing notes about the stork and the
mythology and symbolism that is often associated with
stork as a motive. Furthermore I noted the associations
that came to my mind like how the stork comes with the
little ones however, does it ever keep the children and
bring them up in their nests on top of the chimneys? Is
that the answer why the storks build their nest so high up
that humans can not see the babies it keeps there? Does
the stork ever deliver the children to a wrong address? Is
the stork not the homosexuals’ and virginals’ (Virgin Mary!)
answer to their prayers to have children? In Denmark the
storks belong to the peaceful and calm landscapes away
from the stressing demands of our times. And further,
the stork eats frogs, yes and dead birds and animals, the
marabou is scavenger, could the stork eat dead bodies
following an apocalyptic catastrophe? And maybe be
better of compared to now with us? As one can see there
are plenty of thoughts to a mythological stork motive. I
draw sketches to these notes to retain the associated
and occurred visual ideas. I finally have an idea about the
stork motive, which I then commence to incorporate to
the work. A hybrid stork strong, greedy and elegant with a
mythological touch.
The Fishing Boat
Two fishermen are sailing their small rowing boat in a
stormy weather out at sea. A dramatic, dynamic motive
which has fascinated me for a long period. One of the
men in the boat is fighting the big waves, the other one
is the whaler with his harpoon gun too big for the small
boat. They are chasing a big monster like creature. In the
work I try to ask some questions to myself and in that way
to the beholder: is a boat able to cope with the storm or
will it capsize with the men on board? Will the human
beings manage the monster or will the monster win?
Why have they sailed out in a boat too small to bring their
catch home? Or must they simply overcome the storm
and the monster?
Working with the picture more questions than answers
appear. I note my picture’s references: Moby Dick,
Thor and the Midgårdsorm, Round-the-world beneath
the Ocean, the Life of Pi, a poster of mine where some
Vikings have captured something looking like Loke in his
bird slough pictured by Akseli Gallen-Kallela – all of these
have inspired me and are in some way or another a part of
The fishing Boat.

Contact:
pelleuzi@hotmail.com / pelleuzi.dk
Tak /
Thank you
Afgangsklassen 2010 vil takke alle nuværende og tidligere lærere, rektor, andre ansatte og medstuderende ved Det
Fynske Kunstakademi / The graduation class of 2010 would like to thank present and former teachers, their principal,
other employees and co-students at Funen Art Academy.
Anna Krogh, Lene Rechnagel, Arne Møller, Lars Lundegård, Brandts Kunsthall, RAKETT (Åse Løvgren, Karolin Tampere),
Claus Due & Henriette K. Jørgensen at Designbolaget, Meri Sidsel Gustafsson, Rikke Flensberg, Jessica Lund, Dansk
Indiansk Forening, Hov hov, Filip, Peter Fuchs, Nebojša Lalatović, Saša Mačkić, Salim, Suaad, Ahsan, Khulood, Wissam,
Wafaa, Kristian Friis-Hansen, Johanne Nordby Wernø, Lars Bonde, Odd Øyvind Fjelldal. Statens Kunstråd, Joel
Brekke, William, Fabrizio, Niels, Anette Abrahamsson, Anja Franke, Kristine Kern, Jens Haaning, William, Lise Ettrup og
alle lærere fra/teachers at G.S.K, Sara G, El Rito & co, Kasper Maaløe, Marianne Ager, Tine Oksbjerg, Kulturmaskinen,
Michael Baers, Mette Winckelmann, Uffe (FilmGEAR), Blenkov & Schønnemann, Odense Filmværksted, Mette Birck,
Matin Lindegaard, Poula Ipsen, Hans Hansen, Trine Ipsen, Jakob Jakobsen, Junckers, Mads Okking, Merete Jankowski,
Neda Skelac Jørgensen, Nino Veber, Eyad Amasha, Sanne Kofod Olsen, Pixi, Statens værksteder på gl. dok i København,
Gæste Atelier på Hollufgård, Fyns Grafiske Værksted, familier og venner/ family and friends.

Kolophon /
Colofon
Afgangsudstilling fra Det Fynske Kunstakademi, Odense
Graduation exhibition of Funen Art Academy, Odense
Kunsthallen Brandts
21. 5. – 15. 8. 2010
Afgangsudstillingen
2010
Kunstnere / Artists:
Alen Aligrudić, Khaled Barakeh, Mikkel Teis, Line
Elmstrøm Lund, Mie Lund Hansen, Mia Helmer, Tommy
Thore Ipsen, Marie Irmgard, Phillip Drago Jørgensen,
Michael Würtz Overbeck & Pelle Møller Schiødt.
Kuratorer / Curators:
RAKETT (Åse Løvgren & Karolin Tampere)
Redaktører/Editors:
RAKETT (Åse Løvgren & Karolin Tampere)
Denne katalogen er laget i samarbejde med kataloggruppen/
This catalogue is made in collaboration with the
catalogue group Khaled Barakeh, Line Elmstrøm Lund,
Michael Würtz Overbeck.
Udstillingsproducent / Exhibition production:
Det Fynske Kunstakademi
/ Funen Art Academy, Kunsthallen Brandts
Kunsthallen Brandts:
Anna Krogh, Lene Rechnagel, værkstedet
ved Arne Møller og Lars Lundsgaard
Forfattere / Authors:
Lars Grambye, Merete Jankowski, Alen Aligrudić, Khaled
Barakeh, Mikkel Teis, Sara Gjøde, Line Elmstrøm Lund,
Peter Fuchs, Mie Lund Hansen, Tommy Thore Ipsen, Marie
Irmgard, Phillip Drago Jørgensen, Anna Krogh, Jessica
Lund, Ren Luft, Pelle Møller Schiødt, Michael Würtz Overbeck,
RAKETT & Mads Vestergaard.
Korrektur / Proof reading
DK: Lars Bonde
UK: Johanne Nordby Wernø
© Kunstnerne og skribenterne / Artists and writers
Design: Designbolaget.dk
Tryk / Print: Clausen Offset
ISBN 978-87-92666-09-3
Udgiver / Publisher:
Forlaget Det Fynske Kunstakademi
/ Funen Art Academy Publishers
Kataloget kan rekvireres på /
The catalogue can be ordered through:
Det Fynske Kunstakademi / Funen Art Academy
Brandts Torv 1,4., Postboks 1213
DK - 5000 Odense
Tel. (+45) 6611 1288
info@detfynskekunstakademi.dk
www.detfynskekunstakademi.dk
Augustinus Fonden

Det Fynske Kunstakademi
/ Funen Art Academy
Brandts Torv 1, 4. floor
5000 Odense C
Denmark