Katja Aglert 6 – 9 december
Katja Aglert: Winter Event – antifreeze
Curated by Stefanie Hessler
Winter Event – antifreeze is both an exhibition and the final stage of a project, which started with an artistic residency research trip to the Arctic in 2009. Three years later, the project has turned into a complex multi-branched structure.
In Winter Event – antifreeze, Katja Aglert investigates repetition as method and framework for transformation and revolution rather than duplication. The project dissects clichés of romanticism and mysticism related to the Arctic, and deconstructs heroism and so-called discoveries from a norm critical perspective. At the same time, Winter Event – antifreeze shows how human shortcomings can be a source for laugh-provoking expressions, and reveals that most of the alleged heroes of the Arctic actually failed.
The title is based on George Brecht’s 1960s Fluxus score "Winter Event – antifreeze". Katja Aglert interpreted the instruction by melting ice in her bare hands every time she went ashore in the Arctic. The performance was documented and the video developed in a “behind the scenes” logic, in which the focus does not lie on the acts performed before, but rather on what is happening behind the camera. Out of the video, a script, further reiterations, and a publication developed – all of which form part of this final display at Weld.
The publication “Winter Event – antifreeze Winter Event – antifreeze Winter Event – antifreeze Winter Event – antifreeze”, co-edited by Katja Aglert and Stefanie Hessler, will be presented for the first time during the exhibition.
The exhibition Winter Event – antifreeze has partly been developed through a residency at – and co-produced by Weld.
The artistic practice of Katja Aglert is multidisciplinary in nature and includes both individual and collaborative projects. Her projects are based in interdisciplinary research, often related to society, politics, gender, the environment, and history(ies). Aglert’s recent recent contexts for display of projects include Takes On Memory and Flight Paths at Gallery Augusta, Helsinki, Finland; Shaped By Time at National Museum of Denmark; Polar Positions at Sami Center For Contemporary Art, Norway; 58th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Germany. She is currently the recipient of a 2-years Working Grant from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee. Katja Aglert is based in Stockholm and Berlin.
www.katjaaglert.com
Stefanie Hessler is an independent curator based in Sweden, Germany and Chile. Recent projects include the exhibition Marjetica Potrč. Caracas: Dry Toilet at Die Ecke Arte Contemporáneo in Santiago, Chile; the festival and symposium Performing Recalcitrance at the Royal Institute of Art Stockholm; and contributions to Contaminaciones Contemporáneas at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Santiago, Chile (all 2012). Hessler is the initator of the curatorial platform smallworldsproject, a combination of curating site-specific exhibitions in spaces outside the art context, collaborative practice and online art magazine. She holds a Master of Arts degree in "Curating Art" from Stockholm University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
Utställningen Winter Event – antifreeze har delvis utvecklats genom ett residens på- och producerats i ett samarbete med Weld.
Katja Aglerts konstnärliga praktik verkar i skärningspunkten mellan olika discipliner och inkluderar projekt på individuell basis och samarbeten. Hennes arbete är av tvärvetenskaplig natur, och står ofta i relation till samhällsfrågor, genusperspektiv, miljöfrågor och historieskrivning. Aglerts projekt har senast visats i sammanhang som tex. Takes On Memory and Flight Paths på Gallery Augusta, Helsingfors, Finland; Shaped By Time på Nationalmuseet, Danmark; Polar Positions på Sami Center For Contemporary Art, Norge; 58th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Tyskland. Katja Aglert erhöll 2006 och 2011 Konstnärsnämndens 2-åriga Arbetsstipendium. Katja Aglert är baserad i Stockholm och Berlin.
www.katjaaglert.com
Stefanie Hessler är curator och baserad i Sverige, Tyskland och Chile. Hennes senaste projekt inkluderar utställningen Marjetica Potrč. Caracas: Dry Toilet på Die Ecke Arte Contemporáneo i Santiago, Chile; festivalen och symposiet Performing Recalcitrance på Kungl. Konsthögskolan i Stockholm; och samverkan i Contaminaciones Contemporáneas på Museum of Contemporary Art i Santiago, Chile (samtliga under 2012). Hessler har initierat den pågående curatoriella plattformen smallworldsproject, ett ramverk som kombinerar samarbeten, curering av platsspecifika utställningar i rum utanför konstkontexten och ett magasin på internet. Hon har en magisterexamen i "Curating Art" från Stockholms Universitet och en fil-kandexamen från Zeppelin University i Friedrichshafen, Tyskland.