Two years ago, during five warm days in July, the first
Art Film Festival took place in Simrishamn, a tiny town
on the southeast tip of Sweden. Hundreds of video works
by young and old artists were projected onto a wall in the
town’s kunsthalle, while visitors were fed free popcorn
and beer. From the immense flow of works, some stood out,
presenting intriguing depictions of the artists’ closest
environments.
This program includes recent videos by six Swedish artists,
Jonathan Jarl, Michael Johansson, Johan Jonason, Eva Linder,
Jesper Nordahl and John Skoog, some of which participated
in Simrishamn in 2003. They all belong to a new generation
of artists, having begun exhibiting in Sweden and internationally
only during the last few years. This is the first time ever
any of their works will be presented in New York.
The works range from inventive documentaries to playful
fictions, all with a distinct social interest. The artists
present a complex portrait of Sweden and its neighbouring
countries, beyond cold weather, melancholy and social democratic
models. The six artists introduce us to an astounding set
of characters, some observed from afar, some intimately
portrayed. On a beautiful summer evening we will get an
unexpected visit by a Finnish man with dreadful stories
to tell, we will spend a day with Crazy Girls, three ten
year olds dancing along the streets of a post-communist
town, we will track a mattress saleswoman’s meticulous
morning procedures from summer to fall, and on a clear winter
morning we will pay a visit to an ordinary sniper working
from a roof in a suburb of Gothenburg. We will meet a broad
range of people, invented or real, seemingly exotic, yet
with surprisingly familiar qualities.
The program is organized by Elna Svenle, Swedish curator
and art critic.
Jonathan Jarl
Jonathan Jarl (b. 1978) lives and works in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The program includes four of his videos, Untitled Video
(2002), Pencil Boy (2003), Pool (2004,
made in collaboration with Olle Andersson), and Thrifty
Thrill (2005). Jarl employs a generous style, patiently
registering his subjects, be it a factual or fictional presentation.
There is also a humorous side to his work. He intimately
portrays characters that generally are presented in a stereotypical
manner, such as a group of loud teenagers, ordinary office
workers, or a sniper.
Jarl received a Master of Photography degree from the School
of Photography and Film at the University of Gothenburg
earlier this year. He has participated in numerous exhibitions
and screenings around Scandinavia. This is the first time
his work is presented in the US.
Michael Johansson
Michael Johansson (b. 1975) lives and works in Malmö,
Sweden. His practice spans various media – photography,
installation and video. Johansson’s two works in this
program, That’s Low (2002) and 10 a.m.
(2004), are distinct in character, the former a fictional
psychological play, the latter what might be described as
a contemporary Rear Window. That’s Low
is made in collaboration with filmmaker and artist Johan
Jonason, who is also participating in this exhibition. This
work was shot on a roof in Stockholm, starring a deeply
upset Jonason who neither manages to get sympathy from us,
nor from himself. 10 a.m. was made during six months
in Berlin, where Johansson had gone on a study exchange.
Every morning at 10 o'clock he turned on the camera he had
placed in his bedroom window, allowing it to capture the
activities of the mattress saleswoman across the street.
Initially the shop looks alike from day to day, but before
long a number of changes start to occur. This is a portrait
of the repetitive, yet constantly altering urban life.
Michael Johansson graduates from the Malmö Art Academy
(MFA) early this fall. He has exhibited internationally
since 1998, yet this is the first time his work is presented
in the US.
Johan Jonason
Johan Jonason (b. 1970) lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.
Jonason partakes in both art and film contexts, having shown
his works in exhibitions as well as film festivals. The
three works by Jonason, included in this program, have recently
had Swedish DVD release, under the compilation name Terrible.
One of these works, That’s Low (2002), is
made in collaboration with Michael Johansson, also participating
in this screening program. The other two works, Between
Curl & Snout (2004) and Terrible Boy (2003),
are Jonason’s own productions. Terrible Boy
is a dramatic tale told by a young man who one sunny afternoon
pays a visit to an unknowing group of friends. The tale
is filled with blood, bombs and death, and told with vivid
realization by the young narrator. Nobody is listening to
him until the room suddenly fills with smoke – an
effective part in this man's quest to be heard.
Jonason graduated from the Royal University College of Fine
Arts (MFA) in Stockholm in 2004. Terrible Boy was
nominated for best short film at this year's Swedish film
awards. This is the first time Jonason's works are presented
in the US.
Eva Linder
Eva Linder (b. 1973) lives and works in Gothenburg, Sweden.
She employs a documentary style in works such as Paying
Tax is Sexy (2005). This video was originally part
of a research project investigating the current welfare
state, made for Whatever Happened to Social Democracy,
an exhibition at Rooseum, Malmö, earlier this year.
In Paying Tax is Sexy, Linder interviews a woman
with a long established, joyous relationship to the national
tax office in Stockholm. The title of the work, Paying
Tax is Sexy, is a quote from 1994, from the Swedish
minister Mona Sahlin. The program also includes The
Gothenburg Choir Event (2003, made in collaboration
with Kalle Brolin), a documentation of a song invasion of
the central station in Gothenburg.
Linder graduated from the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts
(MFA) in 2004. She has participated in numerous exhibitions
in Sweden and internationally, and is the co-founder of
YEANS, an artist run space in Gothenburg. This is the first
time Linder's work is presented in the US.
Jesper Nordahl
Jesper Nordahl (b. 1969) lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.
He works in photography and video, employing a reportage
technique similar to that of a journalist or a documentary
maker. In Cricket (2003) he meets a Zimbabwean
player to discuss the political implications of sports,
in Field Trip (2002) he interviews a forest caretaker
in Karosta, Latvia, who tells him about half a century of
Soviet occupation, in Crazy Girls (2001) he spends
a day with a young dance-group, creating their first music
video shot along concrete housing blocks, and in Kanon
(2000) he takes us to the beach, where he spies on a group
of drunk men performing an intriguing unrehearsed show.
This screening program includes Kanon and Crazy
Girls, both made in Latvia, a country Nordahl often
returns to in his work.
Nordahl graduated from the Royal University College of Fine
Arts (MFA) in Stockholm in 2000. He also has a degree in
sociology from the Stockholm University. Nordahl has participated
in numerous exhibitions and screenings around the world,
yet this will be his first presentation in the US.
Read more about Jesper Nordahl in Artforum's April issue
of this year, in a review of his recent solo exhibition
at Mångkulturellt Centrum in Fittja, Sweden.
John Skoog
John Skoog (b. 1985) lives in Kvidinge, a rural village
in the south of Sweden. He works with moving image and photography,
and is represented with three video works in this program,
I Never Thought You Would Leave Me in the Summer
(2004), "Lyric Jig Saw Over 500 Pieces"
(2004, made in collaboration with Hampus Jönsson),
and What-Ever You Like (2002). Skoog works in a
structuralist tradition, often using short video sequences
to build a flowing narrative, allowing the process of his
image making to be an integral part of the work. He uses
the camera as a mirror, producing self-reflective videos
filled with charm and playfulness, successfully capturing
a young person’s insecurities.
Skoog has participated in art exhibitions and film festivals,
in Sweden and internationally. This is the first time his
works are presented in New York.
We would like to direct our sincere thanks to all
the artists, to Melinda Martino at the Consulate General
of Sweden in New York, and to Linus Lindell at the International
Art Film Festival in Simrishamn.
