KANT ST. KONGENSGADE 3, BAGHUSET, 1264 COPENHAGEN

 

Caligula, Framed pigment print on dibond, ed. 1/7,  45x30 cm   Bee, Framed pigment print on dibond, ed. 1/5,150x100 cm

Rocks and Mountains Kenneth Bamberg   Opening             04. June / 5.00 - 7.00 pm   Exhibition          05. June  - 04. July  2015.   Visit                    Tuesday -  Friday 12.00 - 6.00 pm / Saturday 11.00 - 4.00 pm

Copenhagen Photo Festival - 5 June - 14 June 2015.

For the english text please scoll down.

"Rocks and Mountains" markerer den finske fotograf Kenneth Bambergs første soloudstilling i Danmark. Kenneth Bamberg (1981) bor og arbejder i Helsinki. Han dimitterede i 2011 med en Master of Fine Art fra Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, ofte omtalt som The Helsinki School. Bambergs praksis koncentrerer sig om portrætter, som spænder over en række indbyrdes forbundne serier. Han er opvokset på øen Åland, der ligger ved indgangen til Den Botniske Bugt i Østersøen mellem Finland og Sverige.

Udstillingens titel er hentet fra en sætning i Jane Austens roman "Pride and prejudice", som lyder : “ What are men to rocks and mountains ? " Bamberg præsenterer et udvalg af fotografier, der

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KANT ST. KONGENSGADE 3, BAGHUSET, 1264 COPENHAGEN

har fokus på beslægtede karaktertræk, og hvor helhedsindtrykket får karakter af en garderobe af kostumer, der tilsammen definerer og skaber køn. Hvert portræt præsenteres som dele af forskellige serier, men i den konkrete udstillings kontekst bliver de som kapitler i en bog.

Bamberg omtaler sine barndoms - og teenageår på øen som værende overvejende "homosocial". Med undtagelse af hans mor, var han udelukkende omgivet - og påvirket af mandlige venner, to ældre brødre og hans far. Fodbold, ishockey, fiskeri, jagt, brydning og skydning var de forventede fritidsaktiviteter, og hans to ældre brødre hjalp ham til at mestre disse maskuline discipliner. Bamberg erindrer en sommerdag, sytten år gammel, hvor han for første gang vandt en armbrydekamp over sin far. "Det var et herligt øjeblik, der indgydede mig respekt og gav mig den symbolske billet til manddom. Et par år senere begik min bror selvmord. Hans handlinger fremkaldte et stærkt behov hos mig for at stille spørgsmål ved min egen identitet, min historie og mine omgivelser ... "

Scenen for Bambergs portrætter er sat i forskellige miljøer, som han relaterer til sin personlige historie og den fortsatte dybe interesse for maskulinitet. Denne relation er dog ikke isoleret til en bestemt social eller national sammenhæng, idet han opsøger og finder sine motiver på forskellige kontinenter med forskellige kulturer og temaer. I serien "Wrestlers" refererer han til personlige minder om brydning med sine brødre og den smerte og prestige, der er forbundet med at vinde og tabe. "Sauna Sessions" er nært beslægtet med finsk tradition og repræsenterer styrke, identitet og den nøgne mands intimitet. "Flowers" behandler processen fra dreng til voksen mand og reflekterer over konfirmationsritualer og omgivelsernes pres ved overgangsriterne. I "Koteka Impressions" udforsker Bamberg fænomenet pynt som et middel til at udtrykke mandighed og individualitet. De hjemmelavede og personligt prægede kotekas synes at blive ekstra-kropslige manifestationer, der afspejler bærerens selvopfattelse.

Kenneth Bamberg har deltaget i solo- og gruppeudstillinger i Finland og internationalt. I 2013 deltog han i "Portrait Now” på Nationalmuseet, København. Bamberg har modtaget priser og talrige legater, herunder det 3 årige arbejs-legat, der uddeles af The Finnish Cutural Foundation. Kenneth Bamberg er repræsenteret i private og offentlige samlinger, herunder The Swedish Cultural Foundation, Finland, Cloud Nine Collection, Sverige og Åland Kunstmuseum, Finland.

 

English   “Rocks and Mountains” marks the Finnish photographer Kenneth Bamberg´s first solo exhibition in Denmark. Kenneth Bamberg (1981) lives and works in Helsinki. He graduated with a Master of Fine Art in 2011 from the Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, often refered to as The Helsinki School. Bamberg´s practice is concentrated on portraits, which span a number of interrelated series of which several are ongoing. Bamberg grew up on the island Åland, which lies at the entrance of the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden.   The exhibition title is taken from a sentence in Jane Austen´s novel “Pride & Prejudice” which reads;  “What are men to rocks and mountains ?”. Bamberg presents a selection of photographs displaying similar characteristics, where the entirety of the show becomes a theatre or a costume storage, which creates gender. Each portrait is presented as a part of different series, yet in the specific exhibition context they form a union like chapters to a book.   Bamberg refers to his island childhood and teenage years as being predominately “homosocial”. With the exception of his mother, he was surrounded and influenced exclusively by male friends, two older brothers and his father. Football, ice hockey, fishing, hunting, wrestling and shooting were the expected pastimes, and his two older brothers helped him master these masculine disciplines. Bamberg remembers a summer day as a seventeen year old, winning an arm wrestling match over his father for the first time. 

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KANT ST. KONGENSGADE 3, BAGHUSET, 1264 COPENHAGEN

“It was a glorious moment, that offered me respect and a symbolic ticket to manhood. A couple of years later my brother committed suicide. His actions evoked in me strong needs to start questioning my own identity, history and surroundings…”    The stage for Bamberg´s portraits are set in different environments, that relate to his personal history and deep ongoing interest in masculinity. This relation is not only isolated to a specific social or national context, as his motives are found on different continents with differing cultures and topics. In the series “Wrestlers" he refers to personal memories of wrestling with his brothers and the pain and prestige of winning and losing. "Sauna Sessions” is closely related to Finnish tradition proposing strength, identity and the intimacy of the naked male. ”Flowers” questions the transition from boy to man, reflecting on confirmation rituals and the pressure surrounding the rites of passage to adulthood. In the "Koteka Impressions" Bamberg explores adornment as a vehicle for expressing maleness and individuality. The self-made kotekas seem to become extra-bodily manifestations, that reflect the carrier´s self-image.   Kenneth Bamberg has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Finland and internationally. In 2013 he participated in "Portrait Now" at The Museum of National History, Copenhagen. Bamberg has received esteemed awards and numerous grants including the 3 year working grant offered by The Finnish Cutural Foundation.  Kenneth Bamberg is represented in private and public collections including The Swedish Cultural Foundation, Finland, Cloud Nine Collection, Sweden and Åland Art Museum, Finland.  

For further information please contact;

KANT Kerry Harm-Nielsen +0045 29 46 63 31 Anna Gram Sørensen +0045 23 38 49 24

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