Bett, 2017, College Jacket, offset print, limited edition
Bett/Mädchenkammer
The project Mädchenkammer gathered international, renowned artists in a place where public and private spheres merge – a hotel. Appropriating a hotel as a temporary exhibition space was a key element of the project: Every artist presented their own work in reaction to one self-rented hotel room which they could use individually or share with fellow artists over the course of 2 days.
We, Eli Skatvedt, Kirstin Burckhardt and I, chose to combine shadow figure playing, as an ancient form of storytelling, with a white cube that we built around a bed. We focused on the bed as it is practically and formally the crucial element of every hotel room. At the same time, beds are quintessential objects where we lay our body to rest, making them the physical locus of imagination and dream-states that follow their own logics. And finally, beds are highly charged objects of erotica.
In our 8-minute performance BETT, we wanted to combine the bed’s iconographies, break expectations and create mesmerizing moments in which we invite our audience to enjoy the feeling of not knowing what to expect next. Through our dedication create images collaboratively, in shadow-figure play, hidden striptease, humorous sounds, and flickering lights, we sought a powerful energy, a vibrant and explicitly inviting atmosphere that was brave and self-ironic, loving and enticing.
White cube, performance BETT
White cube, light is chancing serval times during the performance
About the project:
The idea behind the project is to make art a joint venture and a place for a shared experience of art. Initiated by five artists – Peder K. Bugge, Dania Burger, Crispin Gurholt, Martin Skauen, and Munan Øvrelid – the rule was that each one of them would invite further artists, writers, and philosophers to take part in making the hotel an art space for one day and night. During this period, the space was open to visitors who were welcome to see and engage in the various creative forms of expression that were presented there, e.g. talks, performances, self-curated rooms, radio shows, etc.
Unlike similar preceding instances, Mädchenkammer is neither being curated by an institution nor by one artist only. Instead, sharing aesthetic experiences – both in perception and in the artistic process itself – and going beyond the individualistic, often impersonal forms of exhibiting art and affiliate forms of creative expression made this venture unique.
Mädchenkammer, 2017