Underskog

ANDREA BAKKETUN
IVAN GALUZIN
MAX OCKBORN
SIRI SCHIPPERS SKAAR
MARTHE ELISE STRAMRUD

In the novel Against Nature (1884) by Joris-Karl Huysmans, the main character, des Esseintes, retreats into total isolation in a countryside house on the outskirts of Paris, where he methodically starts decorating his house in a search for the sublime. Des Esseintes uses the natural as a tool to dig deeper in to the blossom of his imagination, but the flowers wither, the project fails. Deeply disappointed, the nonchalant dandy ends up leaving his monk cell of radiant fabrics and materials, and reluctantly heads back to the city. The exhibition Turn Turtle is a poetic attempt to materialize the subjective space of contemplation described in the novel, by making a tableau vivant of a room in the book; the artworks will constitute a vivid picture from the past.

Just as des Esseintes valorizes the natural, which imitate the artificial, the artists in the exhibition are concerned with the representation of living or natural things in their work and question various tensions between the animate – and inanimate. Max Ockborn writes; what nature wants and what we as humans want is probably quiet different things in our days. Do we, as des Esseintes, prefer a tortoise with jewels fastened to the shell more than the one with its natural pattern? In the guise of an exquisite interior, Podium will operate as the phenomenological alter ego of the isolated country-house.

The exhibition will open when the darkness falls over the city of Oslo and warmly welcomes all visitors to play the main character of the story; to gaze at the restaged chamber of the dandy.

Curated by Jenny Kinge

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Opening on Friday, November 8, 19-22 at Podium,
Hausmannsgate 34, 0182 Oslo

Opening hours:
Saturday, November 9, 12-16
Saturday, November 16, 12-16
Saturday, November 23, 12-16
or by appointment

For questions regarding the exhibition please contact [email protected] / +4741429679