A vacuum-packed human, a kind of funfair that lets you feel what it’s like to hang upside down, and an artist who offers a glimpse of your own future through the tarot deck. These are some of the eccentric and unconventional experiences in the exhibition “The Future is _____.” at the Trondheim Art Museum. The exhibition, which in different ways focuses on gender diversity, marks the end of the Queer Culture Year. The first thing that meets us is a huge screen on which the words “The Future is _____.” is written. As a visitor, I can, on a small keyboard, type in my own vision of what the future will bring. The word I write appears on the screen, at the same time it is saved along with all other suggestions. When the exhibition is over, the museum will have a comprehensive catalog of the public’s various future scenarios. New, dizzying perspectives On the second floor, one ascends to an installation designed by the artist group Ride 1. The installation consists of two 12-metre railway tracks and a small metal carriage that resembles something between a fairground attraction and a construction machine. ACTIVE PARTICIPATION: In something resembling a funfair attraction, the audience can strap in and take a journey that lasts exactly 60 seconds. Photo: Lili Zaneta / Trondheim art museum Red and blue lights flash on each side of the carriage. Here you can buckle up and make a journey that lasts exactly sixty seconds. The carriage turns slowly around its own axis, so that you are hanging upside down several times. Perhaps it is an image of how we are trapped in our own little imagination box, locked in a predetermined track? Or perhaps it is about being forced to see reality from other and unfamiliar perspectives. Chest pressure In the room inside, we get to experience Lawrence Malstaf’s work “Shrink” from 1995. A performance in which a young person hangs inside a transparent plastic bag with a hose that sucks the air out, so that the plastic closes tightly around the body. As I visit the museum, a woman creates this deeply disturbing image. She moves slowly and with great effort. A thin hose pumps in what she needs of oxygen. There is something embryo-like about this image. The seemingly free-floating body inside a bag, breathing in time with something bigger, and which is completely at the mercy of this lifeblood that brings oxygen. CLAUSTROPHOBIC: Watching the performance “Shrink” is a beautiful and claustrophobic experience. I feel like rescuing the person from the suffocating plastic. The performance can be experienced in the museum fifteen times during the exhibition period, with both female and male performers. Photo: Lili Zaneta / Trondheim art museum Although I get assurances that she is not in any distress, it is almost unbearable to stand and watch. I feel an uncomfortable pressure on my chest, and feel like jumping forward and rescuing her from the suffocating plastic. Perhaps this work is also about feeling trapped in an overly narrow role, or locked into an image someone else has defined. A glimpse of the future It is difficult to say anything about the future. We’ve seen filmmakers try their hand many times with wild science fiction shows. In the film “Back to The Future” from 1985, the character Marty McFly, in the guise of Michael J. Fox, travels to 2015. There are flying cars in the streets and much that is very high-tech, but messages are still sent by fax. No one knows what the future holds, but throughout the ages there have been people who claim to be able to see things before they happen. Be it in a crystal ball, the palm of your hand, in the coffee grounds or in the tarot deck. FORECAST THE FUTURE: “Tarot 2” (2022) is one of the tarot cards Stig Sjölund uses in his art project. Photo: Christina Undrum Andersen / Trondheim art museum The Swedish artist Stig Sjölund plays on this performance in his project “New Age Express”. This is a performance he has carried out in many art institutions around the world since the 1990s, where he reads visitors’ futures using the Celtic cross of the tarot deck. However, it is a little unclear to me whether this is a sincere attempt on the part of the artist to perform divination – or whether it is intended as a harselas with tarot as a new age phenomenon. Sensation and surrender One of the finest things in the exhibition is the Swiss artist Pippilotti Rist’s powerful video installation. Here you can lie down on the floor and indulge yourself in the colorful and fluid film work “Stir Heart, Rinse Heart” (2004). COLOR RIGHT: In Pipilotti Rist’s work “Stir Heart, Rinse Heart” from 2004, one can lie down on the floor and indulge in the beautiful play of shadows on the wall. Photo: Lili Zaneta / TRONDHEIM ART MUSEUM It is a work that attempts to lull the viewer into a state of pure sensation and surrender. The dove images, which are not always easy to decipher, create a sensual and meditative atmosphere. One video installation consists of beautiful shadow plays on the wall. These are created using simple plastic objects, such as packaging, an egg holder from a fridge, a tired disposable glove and a synthetic lace fabric, placed on top of a projector. I could sit there in the magical, smoldering darkness for an eternity. “The Future is _____.” is full of experience and playful. A very nice exhibition for children and young people that very much invites active participation. “This is an exhibition we will never forget”, concluded my 13-year-old daughters after the experience. And I really have to agree with that. UP DOWN: In the upside down room, everything is turned upside down, including the art. From left “Monte San Giuliamo, Sicily” (1908) by Harald Krohg Stabell, “Between day and night. Lofoten” (1894) by Otto Sinding, “Moonlight landscape with sea and birch trees” by Lars Hansen, “April snow, Lillehammer” (1918) by Harald Krohg Stabell. Photo: LILI ZANETA / Tronheim art museum news reviewer Photo: Lili Zaneta / Trondheim art museum Title: “The Future is…” Where: Trondheim art museum Curators: Marianne Zamecznik, Øyvind Kvarme and Per Christian Jørstad Artists: Pipilotti Rist, Jeremy Shaw, Zheng Bo, Sandra Mujinga, Anja Carr, Børre Sæthre, Brittany Nelson, Lawrence Malstaf, Ride1 (Stig Sjølund, Jonas Kjellgren and Ronny Hansson), Anne Breivik, John Anton Risan, Axel Salto etc. Date: 24 September 2022 – 5 March 2023
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“The Future is _____.” at the Trondheim art museum – news Culture and entertainment
