Mark Tholander

A fertile subject for offensive talk

INFORMATION

Artist(s): Mark Tholander

Type: Exhibition

Location: c4 projects

Dates: 24 May 2024 → 29 Jun 2024

Photographer: Rikke Ehlers Nilsson

c4 projects byder velkommen til udstillingen "A fertile subject for offensive talk" af Mark Tholander. På udstillingen viser Tholander en nyproduceret videoinstallation og en serie glasskulpturer, samt opfører performancen "Remember appropriate clothing". "A fertile subject for offensive talk" tager udgangspunkt i “havmunken”, som blev fanget ved Sjællands kyst i 1546. Historiske overleveringer fortæller, at fiskerne troede de havde trukket en munk med fiskekrop op fra havet. Nogle troede, at det var en præst fra et havfolk. Med stor sandsynlighed var det i virkeligheden en tiarmet blæksprutte af en størrelse aldrig set før. Da den daværende konge, Christian 3., hørte om det, beordrede han, at det “afskyelige” væsen skulle begraves hurtigst muligt, så det ikke kunne opildne til “stødende snak” i offentligheden. På denne måde fik præsten fra havet en verdslig begravelse. Med dette udgangspunkt skaber Tholander en videoinstallation og en række skulpturer, som reflekterer over fællesskabers skyggeside. I forlængelse af udstillingen opføres performanceværket "Remember appropriate clothing". Her har Tholander i samarbejde med komponist og sanger Laura Marie Madsen og den elektro-akustiske musiker Jon Sensmeier nyfortolket folkevisen. Ved at placere den i et spekulativt scenarie, udgør den et nyt lydlandskab, der ønsker at revurdere folkekulturens både ekskluderende og inkluderende nostalgi. Performancen vises en gang, samme aften som udstilllingen åbner. Udstillingen er en del af c4 projects udstillingsprogram "The Kinship Programme", der i hele 2024, med udgangspunkt i den øko-feministiske tænker Donna Haraway, sætter fokus på fællesskabets strukturelle, politiske, poetiske og kritiske potentialer. Udstillingen er kurateret af Rikke Ehlers Nilsson og venligst støttet af Statens Kunstfond, Ny Carlsbergfondet, Augustinus Fonden, Beckett-Fonden, Louis-Hansens Fond, Knud Højgaards Fond, Spier Wine, Vesterbro Lokaludvalg og København Kommune - Rådet for Visuel Kunst. En særlig tak til Nicoline Lind, Yu-Yong Pan, Magnus Bak og Johan Feierskov for assistance med animation, modellering og musik, Christian Edwards fra Copenhagenglass for glaspustning, kunstner Scott William Raby og forfatter Adam Drewes. Mark Tholander bor og arbejder i København. Han arbejder på tværs af flere medier, men med særligt fokus på videoinstallation og performance. Hans værker beskæftiger sig med, hvad der sker, når samfundets sammenhængskraft træder ud af normaliteten, ud af synkronisitet – og om der kan skabes nye fællesskaber i kollektiv desorientering. Han tog afgang fra Det Jyske Kunstakademi i 2019, og samme år modtog han 15. Juni Fondens Hæderspris. Han blev tildelt ArtEx Program (Talent Norge) i 2023 og modtog et arbejdslegat fra Statens Kunstfond i 2024. Han har tidligere udstillet på Kunsthal Aarhus (DK), Rencontres Internationales (FR), Seattle Transmedia & Independent Film Festival (US), Art Sonje Center (KR), FILE – Electronic Language International Festival (BR) og Beijing International Short Film Festival (CN). /// c4 projects welcomes you to the exhibition "A fertile subject for offensive talk" by Mark Tholander. In the exhibition, Tholander shows a newly produced video work and a series of glass sculptures, as well as premiere the performance work "Remember appropriate clothing". "A fertile subject for offensive talk" is based on the “sea monk” creature, which was caught on the coast of Zealand in 1546. Historical records say that the fishermen thought they had pulled a monk with a fish body out of the sea. Some thought it was a priest from a “sea people” - a species of “merman”. In all likelihood, it was in fact a ten-armed octopus of a scale never seen before. When the king at the time, Christian III, heard about it, he ordered that the “disgusting” creature should be buried as soon as possible, so that it would not incite offensive talk in public. In this way the priest from the sea was given an honorable burial. With this starting point, Tholander has created a video installation and a series of sculptures that reflects the shadow sides of a community. In addition to the exhibition, the performance "Remember appropriate clothing" takes place. In collaboration with composer and singer Laura Marie Madsen and electro-acoustic musician Jon Sensmeier, Tholander has reinterpreted the structure of various folk songs. By placing them in a speculative scenario, the songs constitute a new soundscape that reassesses folk culture’s both inclusive quality and exclusionary nostalgia. The performance is a one time only event - on the same evening as the opening. The exhibition is part of c4 project’s exhibition program "The Kinship Programme", which throughout 2024, takes its point of departure in the eco-feminist thinker Donna Haraway, focusing on the structural, political, poetic and critical potentials of a community. The exhibition is curated by Rikke Ehlers Nilsson and is kindly supported by the Danish Arts Foundation, Ny Carlsbergfondet, Augustinus Fonden, Beckett-Fonden, Louis- Hansens Fond, Knud Højgaards Fond, Spier Wine, Vesterbro Lokaludvalg, and Copenhagen Municipality. A special thanks to Nicoline Lind, Yu-Yong Pan, Magnus Bak, and Johan Feierskov for assistance in animation, modelling, and music, Christian Edwards from Copenhagenglass for glassblowing, artist Scott William Raby, and author Adam Drewes. Mark Tholander lives and works in Copenhagen. Operating mainly in the realm of video installation and performance, his work revolves around what happens when societal cohesion steps out of normality, out of synchronicity - and whether we can create new communities in collective disorientation. He graduated from the Jutland Art Academy in 2019, and the same year he received the 15. Juni Fondens Award. He was awarded the ArtEx Program (Talent Norway) in 2023 and received a working grant from the Danish Arts Foundation in 2024. He has previously exhibited at Kunsthal Aarhus (DK), Rencontres Internationales (FR), Seattle Transmedia & Independent Film Festival (US), Art Sonje Center (KR), FILE – Electronic Language International Festival (BR), and Beijing International Short Film Festival (CN).

Author: c4 projects