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18/1/2007

I'm Only Human

Contemporary Art Centre of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki

Nathalie Djurberg + Jesper Just

The Contemporary Art Centre of Thessaloniki (CACT) / State Museum of Contemporary Art, is pleased to present I’m only human - Contemporary Video Art, a series of solo shows of young video artists curated by Evi Baniotopoulou and Caroline Corbetta.

The exhibitions series will be divided in two parts:

Nathalie Djurberg + Jesper Just
19 January to 18 February 2007 (opening 19 January 2007)
Annika Larsson + Markus Schinwald
2 March to 1 April 2007 (opening 2 March 2007)
Nathalie Djurberg, Jesper Just, Annika Larsson and Markus Schinwald are among the most interesting young video artists of today’s art scene. Through distinctive but equally alluring visual elements, their work investigates the key issues that define the identity of the contemporary human beings.

The overarching themes of the exhibition series are the ambiguity of human relationships and the individuals’ struggle to express their feelings and desires in today’s societies.

However different in many ways, the works of Djurberg, Just, Larsson and Schinwald approach essential subjects such as power dynamics, gender, family and social relations, sexuality, violence and vulnerability, emotions and obsessions, alienation and fear. These very human topics are explored through a “theatricalisation of reality", where the private sphere gets interwoven with the public realm, and vice versa.

In diverse ways, in their original video works these artists employ already established visual languages, such as those of movies, animations, music videoclips, TV advertisements and other media-generated images. They also make use of the imagery of myths, tales and oral traditions, as well as of notions of philosophy and psychoanalysis.

Nathalie Djurberg (1978, Lysekil, Sweden / lives in Berlin) explores the dark side of human beings with stop-motion animations that are punctuated by unexpected soundtracks. Grotesque clay puppets lapse into sadistic behaviours, sexual deviations and trivial rivalries, often with a humorous or compassionate twist. Her work is visually influenced by sources as diverse as Hollywood cinema and Japanese cartoons, Eastern European animations and classical painting.

Jesper Just (1974, Copenhagen / lives in Copenhagen) challenges media stereotypes of maleness and portrays the individuals' inability to express their feelings in today's societies. In his videos men of different ages meet and interact in highly emotive, surprising ways. His works culminate into dramatic resolutions against quasi-theatrical or cinematic settings, which reflect his influences by Hollywood gangster movies and musicals, as well as French films noirs.

Annika Larsson (1972, Stockholm / lives in New York) exposes the ambiguously alluring and repugnant nature of power in its political, erotic and aesthetic dimensions. The protagonists of her video installations are men, often dressed in flawless business suits. Filmed in a razor-sharp definition, these male personae perform enigmatic rituals that are emphasized by a complete absence of dialogues and by the use of hypnotic music and techniques such as slow motion and repetition.

Markus Schinwald (1973, Salzburg, Austria / lives in Vienna) creates surreal visions of the fragility of human existence and the ambiguity of human relationships. People who are seemingly unrelated and oblivious to one another are at the same time drawn together through strange rituals and common thoughts. Puppets, contortionists and humans sporting unusual prosthetic devices co-exist in a placeless world filled with repetitive recitations of symbolic or emotive texts.

Image: Nathalie Djurberg

Opening 19.1.07
Round table discussion (open to the public) with the artists and curators: 20.1.07 at 12 noon in the exhibition space.

Contemporary Art Centre
21 Kolokotroni & Thrakis Str. - Warehouse B1 Port of Thessaloniki 541 10 Greece
Open Tuesday to Sunday 11:00-19:00

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