Amber Ablett: Anthems
Published
In the Anthems project, Amber Ablett has been learning the national anthems of countries that people have asked her if she comes from. Ablett has worked closely with BEK since the beginning of the project, discussing conceptual questions, developing a way to film performance into video works, and working out the 12 channel sound installation that will be exhibited at Lydgalleriet November 8th – December 1st, 2019.
The overall project of learning the national anthems seeks to raise the question of the assumed relationship between ethnicity and nationality, our outer appearances and our inner connections, how we see ourselves and how others see us. The attempt to learn the anthems is Ablett’s attempt to connect with countries that she has no connection with, but that other people connected her with,– while also confronting this challenge to her sense of belonging. The exhibition at Lydgalleriet shares recordings and text works from this project within an archival structure.
The project has been shared in a number of ways over the last two years, through live performances, sound works and text. In the run up to the exhibition at Lydgalleriet, Ablett hosted two discussion workshops, opening conversation around how we see ourselves and how we are seen.
Amber Ablett
Amber Ablett is an artist and writer based in Bergen, Norway. Using performance, text, sound and re-enactment, her work looks at the importance of place and belonging to how we be together. Stepping away from spectacle, Ablett often uses workshops and gatherings as a platform to share and open up her practice.
Recent projects include: Høstutstillingen, Kunstnernershus, Oslo, 2019; Archipeligo (solo/performance), Hordaland Kunstsenter, Bergen, 2019; Residency AIRY, Kofu, Japan, 2018; Norden til Bergen, Bergen, Norway, 2018; Studio Kitchen, Hordaland Kunstsenter, Bergen, Norway, 2016-2018; Anthems, FELT Gallery, Bergen, Norway, 2017; G/rove, Latitude 28, Dehli, India, 2017; Bergen Assembly, Norway, 2016.