Whitechapel Gallery

Lars Laumann & Aida Ruilova

20 Apr - 05 Jul 2010

© Lars Laumann
Berlinmuren. 2008
video for projection, 23 minutes 56 seconds
Courtesy Maureen Paley, London
LARS LAUMANN & AIDA RUILOVA

20 April - 5 July 2010

In his films Norwegian artist Lars Laumann tells singular stories of obsessional fantasy and desire. The Berlin Wall, 2008, is a documentary of Eija-Riitta Berliner-Mauer, a Swedish woman who describes herself as ‘objectum-sexual, emotionally and sexually attracted to objects, things’. The film follows her story as she narrates her ongoing relationship with the Berlin Wall.

US-based Aïda Ruilova uses film to give shape to dark and unsettling psychological dramas. Two Timers, 2008 shows a woman swimming in a dark pool with a rat, reciting a poem in which celestial and physical bodies collide. A couple, played by the actress Karen Black and artist Raymond Pettibon, are the subjects of Meet the Eye, 2009. Each caught in their own inner worlds, the film is structured around their overlapping but seemingly unconnected imaginations.

This exhibition is part of Art in the Auditorium, a collaborative project organised by the Whitechapel Gallery with institutions from Europe, Asia, South America and the US to provide a showcase for the work of some of the most exciting young artists working with film, video and animation today. Lars Laumann was selected by Henie Onstad Art Centre, Norway; Aïda Rulova by Ballroom Marfa, Texas, USA.
 

Tags: Lars Laumann, Raymond Pettibon, Aïda Ruilova