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Wie bunte Fetzen hängen wir im Wind (2014)

In the project “Wie bundle Fetzen hängen wir im Wind” I explored abstract narrative structures: with a private photo archive as raw material I worked with the overlapping of two and two layers, raising the question: what does it means to be doubly exposed? The installation in its finished form consists of montages, archival news phootage and textile works, and examines the understanding of the individual in modern society. The title “Wie bundle Fetzen hängen wir im Wind” (As colorful rags we hang in the wind), refers to Montaigne’s essay in which he describes identity as something we move in and out of and which is constantly changing.

I prosjektet “Wie bunte Fetzen hängen wir im Wind” utforsket jeg abstraherte fortellergrep : med private fotoarkiv som råmateriale arbeidet jeg med overlapping av to og to lag, med spørsmålet om hva det innebærer å være dobbelt eksponert. Installasjonen i sin ferdige form består av fotomontasjer og tekstiler, og undersøker forståelsen av individet i det moderne samfunn. Tittelen ”Wie bunte fäsen hängen wir im Wind” (Som fargerike filler henger vi i vinden), referer til Montaignes essay hvor han beskriver identitet som noe vi beveger oss inn og ut av og som er i konstant forandring.

80 x 53 cm, glicée print on glossy fine art paper
80 x 53 cm, C-print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Paper
digital silkscreen on brushed alu, 80 x 63 cm
“wie bunte fetzen hängen wir im wind” digital silkscreen on brushed alu, 52 x 80 cm
silk and cotton thread on antique linen cloth, 40 x 70 cm

The installation was shown at House of Foundation 2014

 

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Aesthetics of separation (2006)

“The short way from red to blue. The long way from blue to red” (2006), duration 02:00 min, DV video

Exhibition history

 

“All of me” (2006) duration 01:53 min, DV video with audio

Exhibition history

 

“DMZ” (2006) original duration 04:30 min, DV video with audio

Exhibition history

 

Cathalogue text

Unn Fahlstrøm continues her exploration of the material possibilities of the video medium in the exhibition Aesthetics of Separation. Three video works are on display, “All of me”, “The short way from red to blue. The long way from blue to red” and “DMZ”, as well as printed stills from the films.

Fahlstrøm has previously collaborated with several composers to confront the visual– always emphasising precision, stringency and formal accuracy. The perception of depth is opposed by concealing the visible information and distorting the relationship between form and background. Thus, the artist accentuates the superficiality of the images, but at the same time integrates them into new sensuous relations

Concurrently, Fahlstrøm has adopted various musical ways to structure her images, and the videos Houndred rounds (2003), Non lo so (2004) and I reread the Odyssey last night (2005) are articulated almost like rhythmic flows:  The tension between sound and sight mobilises emotional energy from one sense to the other – from the eye to the ear and back again. Lastly, Fahlstrøm’s most important mode of operation is the spectator’s sensual interplay.

In this perspective Aesthetics of Separation might appear as a step in another direction: While Fahlstrøm previously has founded her worked on more sensual and intuitive principles, the aesthetic reflection is now explicited with a pronounced theme. The visual interplay between the works constitutes a soundboard that encourages a total understanding, yet does not distract from the material qualities of the individual pieces.

On the one hand, Fahlstrøms opens a more intimate sphere of references which easily can be interpreted as personal: “All of me” displays the artist’s lips while she sings, whereas “DMZ” is based on video recordings from the demilitarised zone at the border between North- and South-Korea. These signs of sentimentality and nostalgia are counterbalanced by the absoluteness of Fahlstrøm’s formal criteria. What immediately appears as a personal motive does not acquire the character of univocal affectivity, and is, in fact, represented in a tone of discreet humour.

Aesthetics of Separation plays with complex paradoxes that challenge the spectator by questioning how the visible is brought to be seen. “The short way from red to blue. The long way from blue to red.” presents the scale of colours as an asymmetric motive. As a colour print on aluminium, it depicts a horizontal configuration that can be perceived from left to right as one reads, but also the other way. Apparently, the same motive can be found on screen as to separate phase transitions. There are no exchanges or blurring between the isolated halves. They follow their own courses, but still the red and the blue finally change positions. The exhibition space is therefore the scene of a reflective process where the qualities of the works resonate and circulate through different dimensions and directions without the support of material continuity.

Aesthetics of Separation is the staging of a longing that immediately changes character to become something else. Through imperceptible nuances it shifts from being experienced in passive silence to become a repeatable performative potential. This longing is therefore doubled – it is motivated and remotivated, to be played out in new generous gestures and movements.

Camilla Shim Winge