Operazione Oesophagus by Erika Lind Isaksen

T S I i z a r O e p H O s e O e n o

s u g a h p o

tími r‡mi tilvera — material time life time work time

KB banki er a›alstyrktara›ili myndlistarfláttar Listahátí›ar í Reykjavík 2005. Flytjandi styrkir einnig s‡ninguna.

Matthew Barney

Gabríela Fri›riksdóttir

15. maí - 26. júní 2005

tími r‡mi tilvera - material time life time work time

15. maí - 26. júní 2005

15. maí - 26. júní 2005 Í flessu verki breytist vélinda› eiginlega í sögupersónu, stígur út úr líkamanum og fer gubbandi á stjá; tengingin vi› matvinnsluvélina er ljós, hún er hi› vélræna vélinda sem breytir mat í fljótandi brúnt gums. Veggir mi›salarins eru brúnir og gólfi› er flaki› heyi. Liturinn vísar til saurs sem er einmitt afur› líkamans í hlutverki matvinnsluvélar. Brúnn er róandi og náttúrulegur litur, enda er fletta útkoman ef ma›ur blandar saman öllum grunnlitum litrófsins. Mold er brún og flví er flessi litur lokani›ursta›an í mörgum náttúrulegum ferlum.

Generally, Barney's work is exhibited in stark white spaces. This time, however, he is exhibiting in darkened rooms where normal lighting has been removed and a few strip lights in a corner supply the illumination.

Operazione oesophagus is a multi-layered work, consisting of drawings, paintings, a sculpture and a video installation on three screens, all specifically designed for this space. The sculpture also doubles as scenery in the video installation, within which the artist herself mixes a brown gooey substance in a food processor. Thus both the sculpture and the video piece show fragments of a narrative which took place elsewhere. In this work Fri›riksdóttir is tackling the secrets that are hidden within us. Internally our bodies are made up of wet and slimy organs, which most of us try not to think about. Contrasting this, the outer skin of Fri›riksdóttir's work are dry and rough to the touch, like the bottles of hay that contain a slimy liquid but are brittle and dry on the outside. In this piece, the oesophagus turns into a narrative character. Free of the body it starts to wander around and vomit. Connection with the food processor is clear; it is the mechanical oesophagus that turns food into a brown liquid sludge. Brown is the dominant colour in Fri›riksdóttir's part of the exhibition, and covers her entire exhibition space. This alludes to excrement which is precisely the product of the body when in food processor mode. Both natural and calming, brown is what you get if you mix all the basic colours together. Brown is the colour of earth. In short, this colour is the final product of many natural processes.

In 1992 he started to work with mythical creatures, characters he created and then often impersonated himself. Such characters have since become a regular feature in his work. In 1994 Barney began work on his epic Cremaster film series with related sculptures, photographs and drawings. It was completed in 2002. For his first exhibition he scaled the gallery ceiling, clad only in climbing gear and using the technique of mountain climbers. This athletic event was filmed and shown during the exhibition. Matthew Barney (1967) was raised in Boise, Idaho and graduated from Yale University in 1989. Barney's multimedia art practice includes feature-length films, video installations, sculpture, photography and drawings. SNERTIFLETIR

COMMON GROUND

Brúni liturinn sem flekur mi›salinn me› verkum Gabríelu teygir sig yfir í s‡ningarr‡mi Barneys og tengir flau flannig saman. Listamennirnir sameinast einnig í myndinni sem er prentu› á bakhli› flessa bla›s, en fla› er samskeytt mynd unnin úr verkum fleirra beggja.

Matthew Barney exhibits in the east and west wings of the Akureyri Art Museum, at the centre of which is Fri›riksdóttir's installation. The brown colour covering her space flows into Barney's, thereby connecting them. At this brown intersection, the artists have their works in close proximity, creating a conversation between the artworks and emphasising the similarity in their languages.

Bæ›i vinna me› myndbönd til a› geta s‡nt áhorfandanum hluti á hreyfingu sem erfitt væri a› leika eftir. fiau eiga fla› einnig sameiginlegt a› koma gjarnan sjálf fram í eigin myndbandsverkum. fiegar flau komu saman fyrst til a› ræ›a undirbúninginn fyrir flessa sameiginlegu s‡ningu ákvá›u flau a› vinna út frá or›unum mold, gubb og slím og höf›u flau a› lei›arljósi vi› vinnslu verkanna.

Gabríela Fri›riksdóttir (f. 1971) ólst upp í Reykjavík og útskrifa›ist frá Myndlistaog handí›askóla Íslands 1997. Á örfáum árum hefur hún skipa› sér í hóp okkar fremstu samtímalistamanna, en flví til marks er hún fulltrúi Íslands á Feneyjartvíæringnum sem fram fer í sumar og kalla mætti Ólympíuleika myndlistarinnar. Gabríela vinnur me› ‡msa mi›la; hún gerir skúlptúra, pennateikningar, málverk, hljó›skúlptúra og tónverk. fia› fer hins vegar aldrei á milli mála hva›a listama›ur er a› verki, höfundareinkennin eru mjög sterk. Ef fla› er eitthva› eitt sem einkennir listsköpun Gabríelu flá er fla› sætleiki hryllingsins e›a fegur›in í ljótleikanum. Helstu vi›fangsefni hennar eru líkamar og líkamsop, líkamar sem vir›ast lifa vi› grútarlegar og frumstæ›ar a›stæ›ur. Í nostursamlegum teikningum hennar ver›ur áhorfandandinn vitni a› einhvers konar fæ›ingu flar sem kunnuglegir líkamshlutar mynda sérkennilegar verur. Skúlptúrarnir eru oft afskræmdir, grófhöggnir og hrjúfir. fia› sama má segja um myndböndin flar sem hún líkt og í skúlptúrunum stígur háskalegan línudans á ystu mörkum fagurfræ›innar. Formlaus, klístru› og lekandi efni eru fyrirfer›amikil og undarlegar frumkenndir eru kalla›ar fram me› deigi, mold og slími.

Venjulega eru myndbandsverk Barneys s‡nd í hvítmálu›u r‡mi en a› flessu sinni s‡nir hann í hálfmyrkvu›um sölum sem eru einungis l‡stir me› nokkrum neonljósum úti í horni.

Hjá bá›um listamönnunum skipta titlarnir miklu máli, Operazione oesophagus hefur syngjandi hrynjandi ítölskunnar og alvarleika læknisfræ›isheita á latínu. Titillinn á Cremaster, myndrö› Matthews Barney, kemur einnig úr læknisfræ›inni, fla› er nafni› á vö›vanum sem ‡mist dregur eistu karlmanna upp e›a slakar fleim ni›ur, sbr. Hoist. Segja má a› flau komi bæ›i til dyra eins og flau eru klædd; fígúran sem breg›ur fyrir bæ›i í skúlptúr og myndbandi Gabríelu er nánast nakin og skartar ofvöxnum og ákaflega lo›num sköpum. Gabríela ‡kir kvensköpin en Barney notar aftur á móti mjög raunsæja l‡singu á hinum reista lim, samfarataktinum og a› lokum sá›falli Greenman í Hoist. Slímugur vökvi kemur út um líkamsop á efri hluta búksins hjá Gabríelu en hi› sama gerist ne›an vi› mitti hjá Matthew Barney. Áherslan á ‡kt kynfæri, getna› og líkamsop vísar í flann sterka frumkraft sem drífur lífi› áfram, sjálfan lífsneistann. Bæ›i nota flau vélar á táknrænan hátt, hún fremur hógværa og nánast „kvenlega” matvinnsluvél mi›a› vi› hans risavöxnu og karlmannlegu skógvinnsluvél. firátt fyrir a› eiga marga sameiginlega snertifleti í efnistökum sínum og framsetningu flá er me›höndlunin æri› ólík. Matthew Barney er me› fága›a og íbur›armikla framsetningu á sínum myndböndum sem er stillt upp me› fremur grófunnum teikningum. Hlutunum er flveröfugt fari› hjá Gabríelu sem nostrar vi› fínlegar teikningarnar en notar grófger›a leikmuni í myndböndum sínum.

Hoist, a fifteen minute video installation that plays on a loop, receives its world premier here in the east wing of the Akureyri Art Museum. It is part of a bigger work called De Lama Lâmina which is Portugese and means "Of Mud a Blade." De Lama Lâmina is excerpted from a film produced during a collaborative performance with AmericanBrazilian musician Arto Lindsay. The two artists constructed a float for the carnival in Salvador, capital of Bahia, Brasil, the main part of which was a huge deforestation machine similar to the ones used to clear South American rainforests. The machine held a large uprooted tree in its mandibles and in it was an actress in the role of the environmentalist Julia Butterfly Hill who was constructing a dwelling in the tree-top. While Hoist appears in the east wing, showing in the west wing is a previously unrealeased version of De Lama Lâmina.

Vi› hjól skógvinnsluvélarinnar voru bundnir hakar, skóflur og önnur handverkfæri sem glömru›u í takt vi› aksturinn. Undir vélinni hékk sí›an Greenman sem er a›alsöguhetjan í myndbandinu Hoist. Greenman er blanda af manni og plöntu, hann er me› lauka sem blómstra hægt og sígandi í munni og endaflarmi og l‡sir myndbandi› á mjög opinskáan hátt hvernig honum rís hold og sí›an samræ›i hans vi› drifskaft skógvinnsluvélarinnar.

Operazione oesophagus (latína: a›ger› á vélinda) er fjölflætt verk sem var unni› sérstaklega fyrir Listasafni› á Akureyri me› hli›sjón af framlagi Matthew Barney. Verki› samanstendur af teikningum og málverkum, skúlptúr og myndbandsverki á flremur skjám. Skúlptúrnum breg›ur einnig fyrir sem hluta af myndbandsverkinu og flar má greina listakonuna sjálfa blanda brúnan bú›ing í matvinnsluvél. Bæ›i skúlptúrinn og myndbandsverki› s‡na flannig hluta af atbur›arás sem hefur átt sér sta› annars sta›ar.

T HOIS

Matthew Barney

Hér er Gabríela a› fást vi› leyndardóma fless sem huli› er innra me› okkur. Inni í líkömum okkar eru blaut og slímug líffæri sem flest okkar reyna a› hugsa ekki miki› um dags daglega, eins og til dæmis vélinda›. Yfirbor›i› í hugarheimi Gabríelu er aftur á móti flurrt, hrjúft og hreistrugt líkt og heyflöskurnar í verkinu sem innihalda blautan slímugan vökva en eru hrjúfar og flurrar a› utan.

Brazilian mythical creatures Ossain and Ogun make their presence known, they are opposites who battle; one is a god of iron and war and the other makes medicine in the forest. Ogun's symbolic seven iron tools were attached to the wheels of the deforester and the contraption made a rhythmic noise as the float moved along. Underneath the deforester dwells Greenman who is the main character in Hoist. Greenman is part human and part plant with bulbs that slowly bloom in his mouth and anus. The film also depicts quite graphically his copulation with the deforester.

De Lama Lâmina er a› hluta til heimildarmynd sem ger› var flegar Barney og Lindsay tró›u upp á kjötkve›juhátí›inni í Salvador, höfu›borg Bahia-fylkis í Brasilíu, me› b‡sna skrautlega flungavinnuvél. Meginhluti vagnsins var ger›ur úr grí›arstórri vél eins og fleim sem eru nota›ar í stórvirku skógarhöggi í regnskógum Su›ur-Ameríku. Í klóm vélarinnar var stórt tré og í flví persónugervingur umhverfissinnans Julia Butterfly Hill sem var or›in samvaxin trénu. Go›sagnarverurnar Ossain og Ogun koma einnig vi› sögu, fleir eru andstæ›ur sem takast á, annar er strí›sgu› en hinn skógarvættur.

Using various media — sculpture, drawing, painting, sound sculpture and music — her work is strongly characterised by what might be called the "sweetness of horror". This describes the way in which she constantly discovers beauty in ugliness. Her main subject matter is bodies and bodily cavitiesm depicted as existing at a low and primitive level. Carefully crafted, her drawings offer the viewer a kind of life where familiar body parts form strange creatures. In her sculptures everything tends to be deformed, coarsely hewn and roughly textured. The same can be said about her video installations, where as in her sculptures, she teeters dangerously on the edge of the aesthetically pleasing. Formless, sticky and dripping materials are pronounced and strangely primitive feelings surface in the presence of dough, earth and slime.

They both use video to enable them to show the audience things in motion, things that would be difficult to show repeatedly in the exhibition space. Another common feature is that they frequently appear in their own work. When they first met to prepare for this collaboration, they discussed their work and tried to identify common themes, such as earth, vomit and slime which they have used as an organizing principle for the exhibition. The titles of their works bear an importance to both artists, Operazione oesophagus has the melodic rhythm of Italian and the seriousness of medical Latin. Barney has also used medical terms in his works; cremaster is the muscle that controls testicular contractions. They both make uninhibited use of nudity in their work. The character that can both be seen in Fri›riksdóttir's sculpture and video is almost naked and sports an exaggerated, hairy vulva. Fri›riksdóttir inflates the female sexual organs while Barney, on the other hand, uses a very graphic and real description of the penis slowly getting erect, the rhythmical motions of Greenman who finally ejaculates a couple of times. Where slimy liquid is excreted from the upper regions of a body cavity in the work of Fri›riksdóttir, the same takes place in the nether regions of the body in Barney's work. The emphasis on exaggerated sexual organs, conception and body cavities alludes to the strong primal power that is the driving force of life itself. They both use machines symbolically, she in a rather humble and "female way" with her food processor compared to his gigantic and masculine deforester. Even if they share common ground, their work differs in the way in which they process their materials. Matthew Barney uses sophisticated video installations with high production values that are juxtaposed with roughly made drawings. Gabríela Fri›riksdóttir, on the other hand, puts a lot of work into her delicate drawings while producing less elaborate videos, featuring roughly-hewn props in her installations.

Gabríella Fri›riksdóttir

Hoist er fimmtán mínútna síendurteki› myndband og er fla› sjálfstæ›ur hluti af verkinu De Lama Lâmina (sem er portúgalska en á íslensku mætti útleggja titilinn sem ,,Bla› úr le›ju”). De Lama Lâmina er verk sem Barney er hálfna›ur me› (Cremaster-syrpan var t.a.m. átta ár í vinnslu) og er fla› unni› í samstarfi vi› brasilíska tónlistarmanninn Arto Lindsay. Verki› er s‡nt í tveimur hlutum á plasmaskjám. Í austursal Listsafnsins má sjá Hoist og er hér er um frums‡ningu á verkinu a› ræ›a. Hins vegar getur a› líta sérstaka útgáfu á De Lama Lâmina í vestursal safnsins sem Barney ger›i fyrir s‡ninguna og er fla› einskonar heimildarmynd um samstarf fleirra félaga. Auk fless eru skúlptúrar, teikningar og ljósmyndir eftir Barney á s‡ningunni sem spruttu út frá á›urnefndum verkum.

Gabríela Fri›riksdóttir (1971) was born and raised in Reykjavík. She graduated from the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts in 1997. In a short time she has come to be a prominent figure within the contemporary Icelandic art scene and it is because of this prominence that she has been chosen as the Icelandic representative at the Venice Biennial this summer.

Gabríella Fri›riksdóttir

Matthew Barney

Matthew Barney (f. 1967) er me›al flekktustu listamanna samtímans en hann ólst upp í Boise í Idaho og útskrifa›ist frá Yale háskóla 1989. Skömmu sí›ar skaust hann upp á stjörnuhimininn flá a›eins 24 ára a› aldri. Barney notar fjölmarga mi›la í listsköpun sinni; fló a› hann sé flekktastur fyrir kvikmyndir sínar flá hefur hann einnig unni› me› teikningar, ljósmyndir og skúlptúra. Á fyrstu einkas‡ningu sinni mynda›i hann sjálfan sig flar sem hann las sig um loft s‡ningarsalarins a› hætti klettaklifrara, í klifurbeltinu einu klæ›a. Ári› 1992 fór hann a› vinna me› go›sögulegar verur, persónur sem hann bjó til sjálfur og hafa slíkir karakterar skipa› stóran sess í verkum hans allar götur sí›an. 1994 hóf Barney a› vinna a› Cremaster-kvikmyndarö›inni sem er stórvirki í fimm hlutum me› tengdum skúlptúrum, ljósmyndum og teikningum sem hann lauk vi› 2002.