Bjørn Melhus
09 Nov 2012 - 19 Jan 2013
BJØRN MELHUS
I'M NOT THE ENEMY
9 November – 19 January, 2012
With “I’M NOT THE ENEMY” by Bjørn Melhus we present a socially relevant video work, which focuses on the media representation of the war hero who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Since 2011 some of Bjørn Melhus’ video works look into this subject matter, which has been gaining increasing attention in the media. “I’M NOT THE ENEMY” was produced for his solo show in Haus am Waldsee in Berlin and has been awarded with Deutscher Kurz Film Preis in 2011.
Playing with the absurd and the uncanny, the film reveals the suppressed memories of three different characters in a seemingly German living room environment: a war veteran, his brother and their mother. Taking on a soap format, the artist plays all the parts in the film himself. Championing Melhus’ sampling style, these characters repeat to exhaustion snippets taken from U.S. war veteran films and post Vietnam war action movies. Associations with different stories we have seen somewhere else arise, making us reflect on how post traumatic stress disorder fails to be diagnosed and is sometimes even subjected to social taboo. An undermining climate of threat comes across, we can no longer distinguish: what is reality, what is dream, what is trauma.
Bjørn Melhus is especially known for his intense exploration of mass media strategies. By fragmenting, destroying, and reconstituting well-known figures and subject matters, his practice opens up new interpretations and critical commentaries which redefine the relationship between the media and its viewer.
Born in 1966, Bjørn Melhus lives and works in Berlin and Kassel. Originally rooted in an experimental film context, Bjørn Melhus' work has been shown and awarded at numerous international film festivals. He has held screenings at Tate Modern and the LUX in London, the Museum of Modern Art (MediaScope) in New York, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, amongst others. His work has been exhibited in shows like The American Effect at the Whitney Museum New York, the 8th International Istanbul Biennial, solo and group shows have been held at FACT Liverpool, Serpentine Gallery London, Sprengel Museum Hanover, Museum Ludwig Cologne, ZKM Karlsruhe, Denver Art Museum, Haus am Waldsee in Berlin, among others.
I'M NOT THE ENEMY
9 November – 19 January, 2012
With “I’M NOT THE ENEMY” by Bjørn Melhus we present a socially relevant video work, which focuses on the media representation of the war hero who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Since 2011 some of Bjørn Melhus’ video works look into this subject matter, which has been gaining increasing attention in the media. “I’M NOT THE ENEMY” was produced for his solo show in Haus am Waldsee in Berlin and has been awarded with Deutscher Kurz Film Preis in 2011.
Playing with the absurd and the uncanny, the film reveals the suppressed memories of three different characters in a seemingly German living room environment: a war veteran, his brother and their mother. Taking on a soap format, the artist plays all the parts in the film himself. Championing Melhus’ sampling style, these characters repeat to exhaustion snippets taken from U.S. war veteran films and post Vietnam war action movies. Associations with different stories we have seen somewhere else arise, making us reflect on how post traumatic stress disorder fails to be diagnosed and is sometimes even subjected to social taboo. An undermining climate of threat comes across, we can no longer distinguish: what is reality, what is dream, what is trauma.
Bjørn Melhus is especially known for his intense exploration of mass media strategies. By fragmenting, destroying, and reconstituting well-known figures and subject matters, his practice opens up new interpretations and critical commentaries which redefine the relationship between the media and its viewer.
Born in 1966, Bjørn Melhus lives and works in Berlin and Kassel. Originally rooted in an experimental film context, Bjørn Melhus' work has been shown and awarded at numerous international film festivals. He has held screenings at Tate Modern and the LUX in London, the Museum of Modern Art (MediaScope) in New York, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, amongst others. His work has been exhibited in shows like The American Effect at the Whitney Museum New York, the 8th International Istanbul Biennial, solo and group shows have been held at FACT Liverpool, Serpentine Gallery London, Sprengel Museum Hanover, Museum Ludwig Cologne, ZKM Karlsruhe, Denver Art Museum, Haus am Waldsee in Berlin, among others.