The second exhibition in our Nordic series, supported by the Nordic Culture Fund, is by Rasmus Ramö Streith (born in Falköping, Sweden, in 1985, lives in Malmö). He graduated from the Malmö Art Academy in 2018) and has exhibited at Malmö Konsthall (2022), Kolonin in Arvika, Sweden (2022) and Galleri Arnstedt in Östra Karup, Sweden (2019) and elsewhere. His work is collected by Moderna Museet in Stockholm.
Prologue
Over the horizon was the moon. I looked up and saw a huge oval shape, covered with fur. A pair of leathery, flapping wings extended on each side. The landscape beneath me was littered with holes. No trees, no houses, no roads, no people. Just row upon row of holes.
Whatever held on to me slowly lost altitude.
Now I could see that each hole had an object placed inside it. Bike, tire, gravestone, trash can, plastic cup, door, plate, bottle, knife, dress, computer, book, ladder, key . . .
The creature sat me down very carefully. Then it just stood there, like a dark pillar. Its bulging eyes reminded me of black spheres, impossible to look into. I thought it was speaking to me. But then there was nothing where it had been only a moment ago.
I couldn’t move my feet. I was stuck. My legs had turned into wood. Finely carved and lacquered. Like the leg of a chair or a dining table.
Installation view of Rasmus Ramö Streith: The set is a skull. Photographer: Jussi Tiainen
Rasmus Ramö Streith’s film- and object-based installations conjure up uncanny scenes among elements of everyday life. His exhibition ’The set is a skull’, shown at Kohta during the spring, is built around the video work The Un dead (2018). Its action takes place in a haunted house where people and furniture have become all but interchangeable. The plot, at the same time a surreal sequencing and a report on material reality, lets us glimpse what is happening between those four walls. It is an abandoned-looking interior where amateur actors perform protracted actions on repeat. The video is recorded on VHS with a camera from 1985. These technical limitations create a time-specific filter, a low resolution for painterly effect. The sound is clear and sharp and achieves the effect of unsettling the relations between image, sound and object. In Ramö Streith’s visual universe illusion is always a glitch, a dreamlike uneasiness.
– Emily Fahlén
Installation view of Rasmus Ramö Streith: The set is a skull. Photographer: Jussi Tiainen
Pohjoismaisen näyttelysarjamme toinen taiteilija on Rasmus Ramö Streith (syntynyt 1985 Falköpingissä, Ruotsissa, asuu Malmössä). Hän valmistui Malmön taideakatemiasta vuonna 2018 ja on pitänyt näyttelyitä muun muassa Malmö Konsthallissa (2022), Koloninissa Arvikassa, Ruotsissa (2022) ja Galleri Arnstedtissa Östra Karupissa, Ruotsissa (2019). Hänen teoksiaan on Moderna Museetin kokoelmassa Tukholmassa.
Prologue
Over the horizon was the moon. I looked up and saw a huge oval shape, covered with fur. A pair of leathery, flapping wings extended on each side. The landscape beneath me was littered with holes. No trees, no houses, no roads, no people. Just row upon row of holes.
Whatever held on to me slowly lost altitude.
Now I could see that each hole had an object placed inside it. Bike, tire, gravestone, trash can, plastic cup, door, plate, bottle, knife, dress, computer, book, ladder, key . . .
The creature sat me down very carefully. Then it just stood there, like a dark pillar. Its bulging eyes reminded me of black spheres, impossible to look into. I thought it was speaking to me. But then there was nothing where it had been only a moment ago.
I couldn’t move my feet. I was stuck. My legs had turned into wood. Finely carved and lacquered. Like the leg of a chair or a dining table.
Näyttelynäkymä Rasmus Ramö Streith: The set is a skull. Valokuvaaja: Jussi Tiainen
Rasmus Ramö Streithin elokuva- ja esinepohjaiset installaatiot loihtivat arkielämän elementtien keskelle häiritseviä kohtauksia. Hänen Kohtassa keväällä nähtävä näyttelynsä The set is a skull rakentuu videoteoksen The Un dead (2018) ympärille. Teos sijoittuu kummitustaloon, jossa ihmiset ja huonekalut ovat alkaneet muistuttamaan toisiaan. Juoni, joka on samaan aikaan surrealistinen sekvenssi ja selostus materiaalisesta todellisuudesta, antaa meille mahdollisuuden vilkaista tilaan talon neljän seinän sisällä. Se on hylätyn näköinen sisätila, jossa amatöörinäyttelijät toistavat pitkittyneitä toimintoja. Video on kuvattu vuoden 1985 VHS-kameralla. Tekniset rajoitukset luovat aikaan sidotun suodattimen, matalan resoluution, jolla on maalauksellinen vaikutus. Ääni on selkeä ja terävä, se horjuttaa kuvan, äänen ja objektin välisiä suhteita. Ramö Streithin visuaalisessa maailmassa illuusio on aina unenomainen ja epämukava häiriö.
– Emily Fahlén
Näyttelynäkymä Rasmus Ramö Streith: The set is a skull. Valokuvaaja: Jussi Tiainen
Den andra utställningen i vår nordiska serie, organiserad med stöd från Nordiska kulturfonden, ägnas Rasmus Ramö Streith (född 1985 i Falköping, Sverige, bosatt i Malmö). Han utexaminerades från Konsthögskolan i Malmö 2018 och har ställt ut bl.a. i Malmö Konsthall (2022), Kolonin i Arvika (2022) och Galleri Arnstedt i Östra Karup (2019). Hans verk finns i Moderna Museets samling.
Prologue
Over the horizon was the moon. I looked up and saw a huge oval shape, covered with fur. A pair of leathery, flapping wings extended on each side. The landscape beneath me was littered with holes. No trees, no houses, no roads, no people. Just row upon row of holes.
Whatever held on to me slowly lost altitude.
Now I could see that each hole had an object placed inside it. Bike, tire, gravestone, trash can, plastic cup, door, plate, bottle, knife, dress, computer, book, ladder, key . . .
The creature sat me down very carefully. Then it just stood there, like a dark pillar. Its bulging eyes reminded me of black spheres, impossible to look into. I thought it was speaking to me. But then there was nothing where it had been only a moment ago.
I couldn’t move my feet. I was stuck. My legs had turned into wood. Finely carved and lacquered. Like the leg of a chair or a dining table.
Rasmus Ramö Streith: The set is a skull, installationsbild. Foto: Jussi Tiainen
I Rasmus Ramö Streiths film- och objektbaserade installationer uppstår oroväckande scener bland vardagliga element. I Kohta visas under våren utställningen The set is a skull, uppbyggd kring videoverket The Un dead (2019) vars handling utspelar sig i ett hemsökt hus där människor och möbler har kommit att likna varandra. I ett på samma gång surrealistiskt drivet och materiellt redovisande händelseförlopp får vi ta del av det som äger rum mellan dessa fyra väggar. Det är en ödslig interiör där amatörskådespelare utför utdragna handlingar på repeat. Videon är inspelad på VHS med en kamera från 1985. Dessa tekniska begränsningar skapar ett tidsbundet filter, en låg upplösning med målerisk verkan. Ljudet är nära, tydligt och skarpt och uppnår en skevande effekt mellan bild, ljud och objekt. I Ramö Streiths bildvärld glappar hela tiden illusionen, som ett drömlikt obehag.
– Emily Fahlén
Rasmus Ramö Streith: The set is a skull, installationsbild. Foto: Jussi Tiainen
