Jesper Rasmussen »
Out of Space
Exhibition: 5 Oct – 31 Oct 2007
Galerie Møllerwitt
Vestergade 56 A
8000 Århus
Galerie MøllerWitt
Christiansgade 18
8000 Aarhus
+45 8-6182949
Tue-Fri 11:30-17 . Sat 10-15
From 5-31 October 2007, the Galerie MøllerWitt is showing the exhibition 'Out of Space' by the reputable Danish artist Jesper Rasmussen. The exhibition will present the entirely new series entitled 'Heimlich', which Jesper Rasmussen has been working on for the past six months. This will be accompanied by a selection of the latest works in the series 'Off Location', which was originally started in 2003. In 'Off Location', Jesper Rasmussen examines the dissonance between the familiar and the unknown. The series consists of a sequence of photographs of public buildings and squares. These photographs are digitally retouched so that the buildings stand there without doors or windows. All traces of human presence such as cars, bicycles, traffic signs etc. have been removed. There is a disturbing sense of silence about the deserted streets and squares, and the buildings appear mysteriously enclosed and impassable. The otherwise so ordinary and recognisable city centre is reduced to an alien, uninhabitable stage setpiece with no kind of connection with the actual place. The tension between the recognisable and the alienated is also a characteristic of Jesper Rasmussen's new series entitled 'Heimlich'. This consists of a sequence of interiors centred on private, intimate rooms such as sitting room, kitchen and corridor. Jesper Rasmussen here makes use of the same artistic technique as in 'Off Location'. Doors and windows have been removed, and the furniture is reduced to non-functional, sculptural masses. The natural light source is retained, but in the hermetically enclosed rooms it acquires a mysterious air. Jesper Rasmussen thus adds an unheimlich dimension to the otherwise apparently secure and homely surroundings. With his digitally retouched photographs, Jesper Rasmussen opens up on a strange visual world that is hardly distinguishable from reality – and yet not quite. By means of digital manipulation, Jesper Rasmussen challenges our view of the reliability of photography and our concept of the space represented by art and reality. Jesper Rasmussen (b. 1959) works in sculpture, film, installation and photography. From 1985 to 1991 he was a member of the artists' group called Solkorset, of which he was co-founder. Since 1981 he has been co-editor of the art periodical Pist Protta. Jesper Rasmussen has a large number of solo and group exhibitions to his name and is represented in ARoS Aarhus Museum of Art, ARKEN Museum of Modern Art and The Danish National Gallery. He has received numerous bursaries and prizes, not least for his solo exhibition in Kunsthallen Brandts, Odense, in spring 2007, which was highly acclaimed by the critics.