A toilet is a toilet is a toilet.

Knowing that Koh-i-noor lacks of a toilet, that essential element of human civilization, I proposed to Many Mini Residencies to build a pliable toilet in paper for the space. That toilet should bear some aesthetic qualities, to entice the prospective beholders and let them possibly forget about their physiological needs. It should be possible to fold it up when not in use.

Initially I had planned to fabricate the piece before the residency, in order to use the residency-slot just to set it up and make some minor adjustments. Eventually, I ended up using the run-up to the residency exploring the qualities of different papers, folding techniques, designs and collecting materials. Only once at the space did I build the object. I needed to experience the empty space in its surroundings, its proportions and qualities and to confront them by myself .  It was thrilling seeing the toilet eventually emerge in the middle of a Saturday night from plane paper. That night I learnt that a toilet bowl is like a seat with a hole in it.

Photo/Memory Exchange

The pictures were taken in the USA by me, Mette Juul. Guests were asked to look through the photographs and if any of them trigger a memory then the picture is yours. What I ask in return is that you write down the memory in one of the books. The relation between images and memory across cultures is investigated in this project.

The ManyMini was a great context to present my Photo/Memory exchange. It was exchiting to meet a lot of different artist and with different background and approach to the residency. Sometimes you do not need a big space and a lot of time – you just need the right space and the right time.

BHWq Consult

We fully enjoyed our 4 hours at the Many Mini Residency.

Polypulses: On the Urban Flow Filtering Space and Reality

USAG’s (Urban Sonic Activator Group; feat. Eva Sjuve and Ola Nilsson) residence was spent experimenting with two sources of sonic sources and combining these two into a live recording. One sonic strain is examining the soundscape within Foucault’s text “On Other Places” filtered through a synthetic voice, combining this with recordings of frequencies, hidden in the architectural material around the gallery space using contact microphones. The combination of philosophical thought on spaces combined with the local sonic identity of Koh-i-noor became the final piece, Polypulses: On the Urban Flow Filtering Space and Reality.

PolyPulses_USAG
Click for Audio Sample

Square Somewhere

Using the Koh-i-noor Many Mini Residency space as a base camp for ‘mini’ expeditions in three neighboring parks, I used a metal detector to explore a defined area of 10 X 10m in each park. I did not do any digging nor leave any material behind. I left the sites exactly as I found them.

As part of the Many Mini project we created a shadow puppet of a hyena. The puppet was concieved and built in the gallery and then released into the streets of Vesterbro. All were welcome to come and help build, control or simply enjoy. The materials used were paper, card, foam and light.

Thanks to everybody who braved the cold Copenhagen night to hear the hyena’s howl and catch a fleeting glimse.

Beauty Question of the month

My residency was first of all an exhibition of the series of prints I’m currently working on, but also an open studio where visitors had the chance to follow the process of the printing technique of trace monotype – a technique half way between drawing and printmaking.

Beauty Question of the month is a title taken out of a fashion magazine and my series of works is inpired by ads and their texts in fashion and beauty magazines. With humour and irony I look into and raise questions about beauty ideals and what women do to gain them.

Thinking of plastic surgery?
Every face tells a story, keep yours under control . You are still yourself, just more beautiful.

SIng it Baby! Art & Culture: Luxury or Necessity?

Once presented to the world, something always seems to happen to one´s ideas: They get tested. My Many Mini Residency was no different that way. Once there, alone in the stark naked, white room, a bright light shining from the ceiling, a big window, there´s no hiding: Does this really hold up? Was my idea as good as I thought it was? For myself I have mixed answers to those questions, but I think that´s less important. More important is how the difference between a Many Mini Residency and other more lengthy ones, is that there is no changing your concept. You have to sit it out. You can´t come back tomorrow and do it differently. I find that both slightly unnerving and exhilarating at the same time. It makes me aware of what I´m doing, and it makes me appreciate process. www.soundingflesh.org