1 Jun 2024 → 11 Aug 2024
Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: 12-6 PM
Thursday: 12-8 PM
Saturday & Sunday: 12-4 PM
Monday: Closed
Opening/vernissage:
31 May 2024, 5-8 PM
IMAGE
Peter Funch, Mount Rainier, Emmons Glacier from Sunrise, 2015. Courtesy Peter Funch and V1 Gallery
TEXT
Fotografisk Center presents the solo exhibition "The Imperfect Atlas" with the award winning and internationally acclaimed visual artist Peter Funch.
On May 31, Fotografisk Center opens the exhibition The Imperfect Atlas, marking the Danish visual artist Peter Funch’s first solo exhibition at Fotografisk Center. The exhibition unfolds Funch’s multi-year research-based project of the same name, consisting of his own photographs and video material as well as an extensive archive from the Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier region near Seattle, USA. Through this project, Funch brings attention to the drastic changes these mountainscapes are undergoing due to human impact on nature’s ecosystems and the Earth’s geological state.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
The exhibition The Imperfect Atlas, exposes both the changes in nature and the changes in modern humanity’s perception of nature. Funch moves away from the journalistic documentary style prevalent in the media’s coverage of climate issues, attempting instead to reclaim humanity’s relationship with nature through unique artistic techniques. Funch refers to and points back to the world’s first colour photography by employing the RGB colour separation method. This photographic technique was invented around the time of the Industrial Revolution and is the source of the invention of colour photography in 1861. Using the technique, Funch examines the mountain landscape in Seattle with three different exposures - red, green, and blue filters - layered on top of each other. Through this photographic historical reference, Funch documents how the melting of the snow caps becomes increasingly evident in the Anthropocene era, marking our current geological epoch. He pairs these images with his own collected archival material, such as newspaper clippings, vintage postcards, and satellite images of the area, to visualise and highlight climate change. In the exhibition, the project transforms into a total installation consisting of both newer and older series of works. These are presented as projections and photographs in various sizes, installed on scaffold constructions, while the archival material is exhibited on display tables specifically made for the exhibition. With his own works and his collected archival material, Funch intertwines the past and the present, thereby uncovering man’s presence in and impact on the area surrounding Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier. The works in the exhibition therefore act as a testimony of climate consequences followed by the Industrial Revolution. By installing Funch’s works on raw metal constructions, the installation design also reflects the contrast between the natural, as depicted in the works, and the constructed and human-made, as experienced through the installation. With his in-depth exploration of environmental and climate-related issues in The Imperfect Atlas, it is natural to consider the exhibition from a broader national, and international perspective, as Funch connects natures changed ecosystems with larger existential questions about man’s changed perspectives on and understanding of nature.
The exhibition is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation, Augustinus Fonden, New Carlsberg Foundation, Politiken-Fonden, Illux and Knud Højgaards Fond.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Peter Funch (b. 1974) is a Danish visual artist who operates at the inter- section of documentary and fine art photography. Often, Funch’s artistic practice is rooted in socially relevant issues, where he, with an observant eye and his cinematic visual language, offers sharp commentary on humans as social and cultural beings, as well as the social and cultural societal structures we are a part of.
Funch graduated as a photojournalist from the Danish School of Media and Journalism in 1999. For 13 years, he worked as a photographer in New York, USA. Today, he lives and works in Paris, France. He has published six monographs and has been widely exhibited internationally, including in Canada, England, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the USA, Germany, Austria, among others.
The project The Imperfect Atlas has also been part of the group exhibition Meltdown, which has been showcased at several international exhibitions around the world. Meltdown is commissioned by the charity Project Pressure.
EVENT PROGRAMME
Throughout the exhibition period, there will be a series of events, each in its own way, contextualising the exhibition within Peter Funch’s artistic practice and his interest in socially relevant topics.
Guided tour with Peter Funch on June 1, 1-2 pm In connection with the current exhibition, visual artist Peter Funch gives a guided tour of his first solo exhibition at Fotografisk Center. During the tour, Funch recounts his in-depth research, which forms the basis of the project The Imperfect Atlas.
Fotografisk Center x V1 Gallery on June 5, 5-7
Fotografisk Center and V1 Gallery jointly present a conversation about photobooks. During the event Book Talk & Book Signing, visual artist Peter Funch will be in conversation with publisher and graphic designer Hans Munk from At Last Books.
The conversation begins at Fotografisk Center and will focus on Funch and Munch’s long-standing collaboration on photobooks. Following this, they will specifically delve into their recently published book Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Vol. 02.
Subsequently, the event continues around the corner at V1 Gallery with a book signing, and book and poster sales at V1 Gallery. It’s approximately a three-minute walk from Fotografisk Center to V1 Gallery.
Artist Talk on June 8, 1-2 pm
Visual artist Peter Funch is in conversation with art historian Laura Ifversen. The conversation will center around Funch’s current solo exhibition The Imperfect Atlas, as well as his artistic practice and personal imagery.
For additional information and opening hours, please visit
www.fotografiskcenter.dk