Bjørn Melhus
Free Update
15 Sep 2019 - 16 Feb 2020
Bjørn Melhus Free Update, Exhibition view KINDL – Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin (15 September 2019 – 19 February 2020); © Bjørn Melhus / VG BILD–KUNST, Bonn, 2019; Photo: Jens Ziehe
BJØRN MELHUS
Free Update
15 September 2019 – 16 February 2020
Curated by Andreas Fiedler.
Melhus deals with phenomena of the reality created by the media in his films and video installations. In often exaggerated, sometimes absurd and comical short films, he questions the motives and general strategies of the mass media and reflects on their influence on our society today. His work is based on audio fragments from various channels in predominantly Western pop culture and cinema, such as American films, television shows, and YouTube videos. Based on these sound sequences, the artist develops multi-layered narratives in which he places stereotypical characters in strange contexts. Melhus always embodies the varied and often extremely bizarre actors in his films himself. In addition to works such as The Theory of Freedom (2015) and Can You See My Art? (2018), the exhibition features Bjørn Melhus’s latest film Sugar (2019), in which an emotional robot with a soul fights against the narcissism of socially deadened humans.
Free Update
15 September 2019 – 16 February 2020
Curated by Andreas Fiedler.
Melhus deals with phenomena of the reality created by the media in his films and video installations. In often exaggerated, sometimes absurd and comical short films, he questions the motives and general strategies of the mass media and reflects on their influence on our society today. His work is based on audio fragments from various channels in predominantly Western pop culture and cinema, such as American films, television shows, and YouTube videos. Based on these sound sequences, the artist develops multi-layered narratives in which he places stereotypical characters in strange contexts. Melhus always embodies the varied and often extremely bizarre actors in his films himself. In addition to works such as The Theory of Freedom (2015) and Can You See My Art? (2018), the exhibition features Bjørn Melhus’s latest film Sugar (2019), in which an emotional robot with a soul fights against the narcissism of socially deadened humans.