Underskog

To Wit, District court of Oslo (2010)

OBSERVANCE

On Monday March 14th Morten Andenæs (b. 1979) will give a talk on OBSERVANCE, his upcoming exhibition at Galleri Riis. The presentation will focus on certain recurring strategies and themes in Andenæs’ practice, such as ambivalence and domestication.
The photographic works in OBSERVANCE tie together several different aspects of his ongoing project Re: The Middle Class, covering subject matter stretching from his own familiy and Oslo’s judicical system, to the EU capital of Brussels and the deserts of southern Spain. As a whole, OBSERVANCE attests to Andenæs’ sustained interest in ambivalence, and its inherently contradictory potential as both a tool for manipulation, and an agent of empowerment.

The attempt to wrest a familiar term away from its customary, and often negative connotations in order to create an alternative meaning is a typical gesture in Andenæs’ work. Though observance deontes both the act of paying attention to something, and adherence to injunctions of a religious or social nature, Andenæs also views these two meanings in conjunction with each other in the sense of observing one’s own observances.

In addition to the show at Galleri Riis, Andenæs is preparing for an exhibition at Peter Lav Gallery in Copenhagen in the fall of 2011.

Åpent Forum er en serie forelesninger, presentasjoner, opptredener og samtaler med kunstnere, kuratorer, teoretikere, forfattere, musikere etc. initiert og arrangert av Kunstakademiet i Oslo. Åpent Forum finner normalt sted hver mandag kl 19.00 (og innimellom på ekstra tilleggsdager) i Kunstakademiets auditorium på Seilduken, Fossveien 24. Forelesningene er som oftest på engelsk og avsluttes gjerne med en spørsmål-svarrunde. Arrangementet er åpent for alle interesserte. Vel møtt!

Open Forum is a series of lectures, presentations, performances and conversations with artists, curators, theorists, authors, musicians etc. initiated and arranged by the Art Academy in Oslo. Open Forum usually take place every Monday at 19.00 in the Academy’s auditorium at Seilduken, Fossveien 24. Additional Open Forums might occur. The lectures are mainly executed in English and is ordinarily rounded up with questions and answers. The event is open for general public. Welcome!