 New Gravity Videostill Annika Larsson New Gravity "The people I use in my works, rather then creating characters, become figures lacking individual history or depth; they are mere ciphers. I do not mean to just represent Everyman, rather each one of them is the carrier of a wider dialogue strictly related to myself and my intimate being." (Annika Larsson) Swedish artist Annika Larsson examines human - mainly male - ritualistic behaviour. Her intense videos create a strange world inhabited by besuitted men performing everyday actions: lighting a cigar, readying for a game of tennis, or walking a dog. Larsson infuses tension and claustrophobia into these simple, wordless scenes through meticulous, unnerving close-ups and slow, carefully detailed, crisply edited shots. The videos are very well produced, cinematic affairs; they employ sophisticated lighting, high-tech digital imagery, and original music soundtracks. Larsson's work explores issues of dominance and suppression, turning familiar, common interactions into strange, ambiguously erotic, and often darkly disturbing and violent investigations of power. The themes of political and sexual control are mimicked by the artist's own extreme aesthetic control over the viewer. "Given (Larsson's) preoccupation with voyeurism and surface appearances and the sense of waiting and stillness that pervades her work, it's no surprise to learn that she once worked for Vanessa Beecroft. She extends Beecroft's investigations of social roles and types into richly conceived, symbol-laden, dreamlike narratives. Particularly intriguing is her focus on interactions - without any real communication - among an entirely male cast." (Roni Feinstein, Art in America, June 2002) sketch is pleased to present the London premier of Annika Larsson's new video work, "New Gravity" (29m 30s). "New Gravity" extends Larsson's ongoing exploration of aesthetic codes and male behaviour. The generally undesirable "geek look" is fetishised through Larsson's intense close-ups of the features of socially awkward adolescent boys. An original, hard synth soundtrack by Tobias Bernstrup and Moravagine pulses; lights flash and roam; and part way through the piece, a computer-generated, 3-D animated man enters, defying logic and gravity in his interactions with one of the teenage boys. Elements of fantasy and danger emerge, reality disintegrates, and this illusion of weightlessness mixes with desire itself. Annika Larsson was born in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden. She lives and works in New York. Exhibition: 1 December 2004 - 15 January 2005 Open to the public: Tue-Sat 10am - 5pm By reservation: Mon-Sat 7pm - 2am the gallery sketch 9 Conduit Street GB-London W1S 2XG Telephone +44 0870 770 6515 Fax +44 (0) 20 7629 1684 Email gallery@sketch.uk.com www.sketch.uk.com |
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