The exhibition Shame is the first in a
trilogy in which the two following are given the titles Hiding &
Pretending, and Golden shame.
The trilogy is inspired by the French philosopher and sociologist
Edgar Morin and his thoughts about the concepts of shame, guilt and
anxiety, where shame is associated with the tribal society, guilt
the industrial society and anxiety the mass culture.
Besides the inspiration from Edgar Morin the first exhibition
Shame is founded on a long, intense collaboration between Aksel
Sandemose´s novel
A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks and Susanne
Hangaard. The result of this was first shown in 2013 in Nykøbing
Mors, which simultaneously is the scene of the action in
A Fugitive
Crosses His Tracks and Hangaards own hometown.
Aksel Sandemose created The Law of Jante in the novel
A Fugitive
Crosses His Tracks. Susanne Hangaard has delved intensively
into the law, and she has come forward to that The Law of Jante can
be reduced to one word: SHAME. Either the shame you get from others,
the shame you give others, or the shame they expose themselves to.
For this reason, The Law of Jante became the starting point for the
exhibition. With the following two parts of the trilogy
Hangaard will step further into the novel's universe to study
phenomena that are proportionate to or extension of the shame.
Three of the works in the exhibition
Shame carries the titles
Relic I, II, III. These works are created with inspiration from the
story that became the key to the novel. The novel's protagonist
Esben tells of a Christmas gift, 10 kr., Esben's father received
from his employer, the foundry owner. Esben's mother spent only 8
out of 10 kroner to show moderation. She took her finest clothes and
went to the foundry owner to thank for the money, which was used on
stoneware from your local hardware store. As Christmas and New Year
was over, the foundry owner changed his mind about the gift to
Esben´s family. Esben´s father was hereafter pulled 1 kr. in salary
each month until the 8 kroner was recovered. Esben tells how he
often saw his mother sitting with a small ceramic dish in her hands.
The dish, as part of the gift from the foundry owner, became a relic
of what the peasants had to accept from those who had money and
power in society.
Relic I, II and III consist of shame balls arranged on
dishes coated with gold leaf. The shame ball, which is a new object,
is intended as a physical manifestation of shame. The object is
produced in the glazed stoneware and is available in various sizes
and shapes. The ceramic shame balls are also included in the
exhibition's two videos
Trinity and
Esben and the twin.
Shame also contains an installation
Together we are more
built of the costumes that are being used in the video
Trinity.
Kristoffer Jul-Larsen (NO) has written an essay about the
exhibition. It can be found
HERE.
The video
Lovmæssig trefoldighed was made in collaboration with
art director Sofie Fruergaard, cinematographer Signe Tora Munk
Bencke, B-photographer Anne Skamris, stage electrician David Medina,
recordists Jonas Kirkegaard og Jakob Garfield-Havsteen, dancers
Sofie Fruergaard, Sandra Liaklev Andersen og Marlene Bonnesen and
Kong Gulerod Film
The video
Esben and the twin was made in collaboration with art
director Sofie Fruergaard, cinematographer Signe Tora Munk Bencke,
recordist Jakob Garfield-Havsteen, the twins Konrad og Bertram and
Kong Gulerod Film.
Photographer: Dorte Krogh