01 Oct 2008

Anika Lori / AVPD / 'The Destruction of Atlantis' at UNION

UNION is pleased to present three exhibitions in one show featuring new works by young Danish artists plus a group show of international artists.


Solo presentation by Anika Lori
Anika Lori works in mixed media creating art that transgresses formal barriers and achieves a mastery of expression and language that is uniquely and resolutely hers. “Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner” is a series of collages employing materials which glitter, glare and wink. This frenzied portrayal is conveyed through the use of weird animals, crying clowns, vintage porn, masks, fashion images, wigs and moustaches. Her work is an expression of a sincere and sanguine fascination with sexuality and an appreciation of its diversity. It explodes before the viewer like a confetti packed firecracker that leaves the ears ringing with a strange poetry in which complementary difference is celebrated to the exclusion of all else.


Visibilities
Solo presentation by AVPD (Aslak Vibæk & Peter Døssing)
Stalker, unfolds as sequence of four connected and uniform corridors. The central installation is made up of four huge mirrors positioned at angles creating an endlessly repeated 360 degree reflection of the four corridors. To walk inside the installation is to encounter an image of oneself standing behind oneself. We are forced into a position of detachment and into taking the role of being our own stalker. Thus the installation becomes a stage and we become performers, made to watch an uncanny scene where we observe and are observed by others involved in this performance with us.


The Destruction of Atlantis
A group show curated by Jesper Elg featuring new works by a diverse group of young international artists including:
Ulrik Crone, Michelle Blade, Wes Lang, Julian Röder, Steve Powers, Todd James, Troels Carlsen, Andrew Schoultz, Jakob Boeskov, Kasper Sonne, HuskMitNavn, Matthew Stone, Hesselholdt & Mejlvang, Alex Lukas, Peter Funch, Jes Brinch and Richard Colman.

The title refers to humankind gradually making the Atlantis myth come true. Our civilization is slowly sinking and we are making what we thought was a bizarre myth come true. Basically we are destroying our own civilization while we claim to become more civilized. Jesper Elg

The exhibition explores the legend of Atlantis interpreted from the perspective, that due to our unthinking treatment of the natural world we are gradually fulfilling, what many thought of as a ludicrous myth. Writers, philosophers and artists have attached many themes to the myth over the last 2,500 years; the destruction of an advanced civilization, natural catastrophes, man-made disasters, utopia, hubris, nationalism. As waters rise and weather systems become increasingly unpredictable, it is not difficult to recognize the correlations between the mythologised island and our own environment. The exhibition reflects and comments on its theme through painting, photography, sound, drawings, sculpture and installation.


For more information please contact: +44 (0) 20 7928 3388 or: info@union-gallery.com