12 November 2011 – 12 February 2012
Thursday – Sunday, 11am-5pm
Special Events:
Friday 11 November 2011, from 6.30pm: Exhibition Preview
With improvised, live electronic performance by experimental Oslo-based musician Arne Borgan (of ARM and Cloudbuilder).
Friday 25 November, 6-8.30pm: LAST Fridays late opening
Friday 27 January at 7pm: Svein Flygari Johansen and Jonny Bradley, as part of January LAST Fridays.
Svein Flygari Johansen is a creature of the forest and fjord, spending the summer months high up inside the Arctic Circle, and is otherwise based in Oslo as a significant figure in the contemporary art community. Identification with nature is at the core of Flygari’s work, where imagery from the organic world connects with high technology.
The work links themes of indigenous Sami culture, capitalist meltdown, patriotism and global politics, with materials ranging from sticks and stones to complex computer programming. Code for all Flygari’s digital works is written by Jonny Bradley with whom he has collaborated since 2001.
Several earlier pieces that focus on disjunctions between ancient and contemporary cultural identities are recreated for the exhibition, to complement a major new commission. As part of his Beaconsfield project, Johansen has invited Frode Halvorsen and Jorid Lekve Eide to make work for Beaconsfield’s FlatScreens.
This is the third in the Beaconsfield series Phase, which turns the spotlight on mid-career artists with whom the organisation has a significant relationship. Beaconsfield first worked with Svein Flygari Johansen in 1999, co-curating British Links for Oslo’s Nasjonalmuseet for Kunst and Henie Onstad Kunstsenter.
Click here to download a press release
Click here to download Naomi Siderfin’s Essay ‘Svein Flygari Johansen: Am I making up what really happened?‘
Listen to Svein Flygari Johansen discussing the exhibition on The Strand, the BBC world Service’s daily arts programme.
Svein Flygari Johansen, The Guardian’s Artist of the week (15 December 2011).
Click here to read Eleanor Shipman’s review of the exhibition for this is tomorrow.
Click here to read Naomi Siderfin’s essay in Mag Magazine (issue 6)
Image: Svein Flygari Johansen, Am I making up what really happened?, 2011, installation detail