Annika von Hausswolff: Spöke
Victoria Miro Gallery, London
28 March - 12 May 2001
The Victoria Miro Gallery presents for the first time the work of Swedish artist Annika von Hausswolff. Spöke (Ghost) 2000, consists of five colour photographs of a nearly empty house as well as an installation of every day objects - chairs, fire extinguishers, a carpet, a pot plant. Until recently von Hausswolff's work has reflected the human body, more often than not expressing signs of damage and exploitation. In Spöke the body is absent altogether and the viewer is left with mere traces of human presence - a coil of electrical cords, a ceiling lamp, a pair of shoes, a flesh-coloured bra in an empty closet. These carefully staged tableaux are heavy with narratives of violence and mystery. Much of the tension in her photographs relies on their visual resemblance to documentary photography and photographs of reconstructed crimes. As a viewer you feel something has happened but exactly what remains unclear.
Born in 1967 in Göteborg, ANNIKA VON HAUSSWOLFF is one of Sweden's best known younger artists.She studied photography in Göteborg and later Stockholm, where she now lives and works. Her work has been exhibited widely internationally, including, in 2000, a group show with Jane and Louise Wilson and Weegee at Magasin 3 Stockholm and Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; in 1999 she was included in the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale; other exhibitions have included Sightings (1998) and Belladonna (1997) at the Institute of Contemporary Art, London and the 23rd São Paulo Biennial, Brazil. Her work is included in public and private collections, amongst others KIASMA, Helsinki; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Astrup Fearnley Collection, Musseet for Moderne Kunst, Oslo.
VICTORIA MIRO GALLERY
16 Wharf Road, London N1 7RW
