Pomp and Ceremony – Shades of Skin, 2014
Mixed media. Flags, dyed textiles, ceramics, spotlights, taxidermied bird. Variable dimensions.
Solo show at Turku Art Museum, Turku, Finland.
Pomp and Ceremony – Shades of Skin transforms the Art Museum’s Studio space to a ceremonial scene which borrows from political campaigns and festivities. The whole pompous festival equipment with its rosettes, draped curtains and customized lighting is done in a nude, Nordic skin-like color to encourage the viewer to think about how normative our culture and world views really are.
Hesselholdt & Mejlvang airs the Finnish national identity by playing with cherished national treasures such as the Aalto vase and the beloved Moomin trolls. Even the national romantic interior of the museum and the crest of the Turku Art Society are used as art work material. The whole ensemble questioning positions of power spreads out to the meeting room used by the Turku Art Society and the flags fluttering outside the museum.
The exhibition is generously supported by the Finnish-Danish Foundation, the Danish Art Workshops and the Danish Arts Foundation.
The three ceramic works Flesh Tinted Urns (2014) are part of the collection of Turku Art Museum.
The circular patchwork wall hanging Shades of Skin / Coat of arms (2014) is part of the collection of the Danish Arts Foundation.
Photo: Vesa Aaltonen.
Pale Skin Union / Flags, 2014. Skin colored cross flags in front of Turku Art Museum. Polyester.
Shades of Skin / Garlands, 2014. Fabric, dyed. Blue and white theatre spots.
Shades of Skin / Coat of arms, 2014. Patchwork wall hanging. Old bedding, curtains and cloths, dyed.
Shades of Skin / National Romantic Column, 2014. Patchwork wall hanging. Old bedding, curtains and cloths, dyed.
Skin Colored African Hawk, 2014. Stuffed African hawk, wood, fabric, paint, varnish.
Flesh Tinted Urns, 2014. Ceramics.
The Nasty Crew / Hooded Moomins, 2014. Ceramics.
