Date: 3 February 2004 | Season: LUX Salon
LUX SALON: BJØRN MELHUS
Tuesday 3 Februry 2004, at 7:30pm
London LUX
Bjørn Melhus is a media artist who reprocesses recognisable elements of American culture, feature films and daytime television into a humorous, but unsettling, reflection of modern life. From his 16mm student films and early videotapes, through to his more recent, technically seamless, digital productions, Melhus has continued to explore the boundaries between the real world and its fictional counterpart. Further blurring our perception, he performs as every character in each, building a dizzying repertory of doppelgangers.
Bjørn Melhus, Das Zauberglas, 1991, colour, sound, 6 min
Bjørn Melhus, No Sunshine, 1997, colour, sound, 6 min
Bjørn Melhus, The Oral Thing, 2001, colour, sound, 8 min
Bjørn Melhus, Auto Center Drive, 2003, colour, sound, 28 min
Bjørn Melhus, Cornflakes, 1987, colour, sound, 2 min
The screening will begin with documentation of Bjørn Melhus’ installation Primetime (2001).
PROGRAMME NOTES
LUX SALON: BJØRN MELHUS
Tuesday 3 Februry 2004, at 7:30pm
London LUX
DAS ZAUBERGLAS (THE MAGIC GLASS)
Bjørn Melhus, 1991, colour, sound, 6 min
“Like Faust in the witch’s kitchen scene, who sees a heavenly image in a magic mirror and recognises the model of all women who awaken his longing, the man in Das Zauberglas also experiences longing and joy when he encounters his female alter ego in the 20th century’s magic mirror – the television screen. But here the joy is not enduring, and is ultimately foiled by the parameters of a media world” —Barbara Nierhoff
NO SUNSHINE
Bjørn Melhus, 1997, colour, sound, 6 min
“The basis of all my work is a previously composed sound and speech collage, often set to a rhythm, and certainly quotes fragments of an already present pop culture. They are nevertheless not pop music at all. They do not bear any musical product or any sort of lifestyle ideology, and shouldn’t either, although they certainly confront this.” —Bjørn Melhus
THE ORAL THING
Bjørn Melhus, 2001, colour, sound, 8 min
“In The Oral Thing, Melhus plays a cast of weird characters in a disturbing spiritual self-help parody using game and talk show sound bytes. The ‘host’ offers redemption, while the ‘guests’ confess terrible secrets in front of an ‘audience’ of hooded clones.” —William Powhida
AUTO CENTER DRIVE
Bjørn Melhus, 2003, colour, sound, 28 min
“The film plays at different levels. In addition to a very personal, metaphoric narration, it deals with the construction and deconstruction of the ego. In Western culture the ego is an invention based on media projections, just as the suburban surroundings seem to increasingle follow a script” —International Kurzfilmage Oberhausen
CORNFLAKES
Bjørn Melhus, Cornflakes, 1987, colour, sound, 2 min
An early 16mm film on the subject of consumption and commercials. Made at the Braunschweig School of Arts, shown tonight just for fun.
Bjørn Melhus’ first British solo show “Primetime” is at FACT Liverpool until 7 March 2004.
This LUX Salon is presented in association with the Serpentine Gallery to coincide with their current exhibition “State of Play” (3 February – 28 March 2004). The exhibition presents the work of international artists who play with ideas and situations. At a time when art can no longer be defined through a single dominant movement or school of thought, the exhibition identifies a number of artists who share an attitude of irreverence and wit, and a lightness of touch increasingly visible in contemporary art making today. Featuring Maurizio Cattelan, Martin Creed, Tony Feher, Bjørn Melhus, Aleksandra Mir, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Pipilotti Rist, David Shrigley, Andreas Slominski and Sarah Sze. Curated by Rochelle Steiner.
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