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Johanna Billing
Where she is at, 2001
DVD, 07:35 min.
Cinematography by: Henry Moore Selder
Produced by Moderna Museet Projekt and Oslo Kunsthall
Where she is at was shot at Ingierstrand Bath, designed by Ole Lind Schistad and Eyvind Mostue in 1934, one of the few remaining pieces of functionalist architecture in Oslo. In a sharp contrast to the ideals of the thirties about health and well-being, Ingierstrand Bath is now in a depressing condition. In the film a young woman climbs up on the tower, but instead of jumping she doubtfully stands at the edge. The video shows a condition of insecurity in a person’s encounter with nature. She also faces physical challenges and her own apprehensiveness. What kind of thoughts run through her head while she is standing in front of overwhelming freedom? The way everything comes down to performance, the film can also perhaps reflect upon the demands and the role as an artist: to be in a constant situation of freedom, while at the same time always having to be ready to throw yourself out from the highest platform.
Missing Out, 2001
DVD, 03:14 min.
Cinematography by: Manne Lindwall
The video Missing Out shows a group of young people lying on the floor in a vast space. They try to perform an exercise taught in Swedish primary schools and kindergartens in the 1970s: by breathing in unison children were supposed to develop a sense of social cohesion. The performance no doubt taps into the collective memory of the participants. Still they cannot make it work any more. Here it has suddenly and illogically turned into a kind of achievement-demanding activity. Uneasily they shift and twitch. Finally, someone gets up and leaves. Wherever he wants to be, it does not seem to be here, in this presumably calm-filled atmosphere. The experience of always having to be there, always having to be ready to perform and participate, is constantly present in the work. |
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