Invisible voices and corporal machines. An artist talk by Sidsel Christensen
Published
Friday November 24th, the artist Sidsel Christensen will visit BEK and hold an artist presentation titled Usynlige stemmer og korporlige maskiner (Invisible voices and corporal machines). Lunch will be served at 14.00, and Sidsel will start her presentation after. Welcome!
Om presentasjonen skriver Sidsel:
“Gjennom det kunstneriske virket bruker jeg videoinstallasjoner og live performance som undersøkelsesramme. Jeg er opptatt av kjønn og identitet, som ligger mellom autentiske og mer fiktive konstruksjoner. Spesifikt undersøker jeg forskjellige muligheter for å transformere en gitt virkelighet, slik den oppleves for et individ eller i en bredere sosial kontekst.
Til presentasjonen på BEK ser jeg nærmere på en spesifikk del av praksisen, som har utviklet seg over en årrekke; En serie performative foredrag, som inngår som del av en større installasjon i utstillingsrommet. Disse performances bygger på konstruerte, narrative forløp, som blandes med multimedia effekter (lyd og video), samt skulpturelle elementer. I dette arbeidet posisjonerer jeg beskueren mellom forskjellige avlesningspremisser, og ønsker dermed å skape et transformativt rom mellom publikum, performer og verk.”
Om Sidsel Christensen
BIO
Sidsel Christensen engages with moving image, live-events and performance-based lectures. Based in Copenhagen, while remaining a working relationship throughout Scandinavia and the UK, Sidsel holds a BA from Goldsmiths and MA from the Royal College of Art respectively. She is currently engaged as a lecturer in New Media at the Institute of Art, University of Bergen.
Selected shows between 2013/17 include two commissioned solo works at Stavanger Art Museum, Norway, as well as UK exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary art, Open Gallery, Hjellegjerde Gallery, Photo London and The Tetley. In the same period, Sidsel has showed work at New Shelterplan (DK), X and Beyond (DK), Kunstnerenes Hus (NO), Perfomence Art Bergen (NO), Ancharpark (DE) and Insitu (DE). Sidsel is currently working towards a new solo exhibition at Kunsthall Stavanger, in Norway.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am interested in the workings of a subjectivity that unfolds between authenticity and fictional constructs of the self. Specifically, to look at different possibilities for the imagination to transform the perceived reality for an individual or group.
This exploration is played out in the relational mechanisms that occur, through my work with conversation, text and video portraits.
The focus has been on capturing a somewhat idealised ‘space’ in between the artist and the subject/audience, where creative input and framing on both sides creates the work. Initially this is a space of potential, power struggle and friction. The tension also lies between a factual and descriptive language and more fictive, poetic modes. Positioned between the two, I wish to give a voice to experiences that normally seems unarticulated or invisible.
In recent years, I have developed a series of performative lectures, that unfolds within bigger audio / visual installations in the gallery. These live events consist of constructed narratives bidding an analytical reading, at the same time as focusing on the presence and positioning of the body. Within this multi-layered space, the premise of how to interpret the work is constantly shifting, inviting the audience into an active and performative engagement.