Queer in the church

Nikolaj Copenhagen Contemporary Art Centre is one of my favourite contemporary art museums in the city. Located in the old church Saint Nikolaj right in the middle of the city, just behind the main walking street Strøget, it has such a clam and secluded space which gives the art experience a certain clam and ease I haven’t found anywhere else. On a hot summer day it is a cool place to slip in to and they almost always have really interesting exhibitions.

These days the city is filled with homo sports fans as we are hosting the World Outgames 2009. For this occasion Nikolaj has put on a really interesting exhibition about memory and history in relation to gender and sexuality. The exhibition is called 'Lost and Found Queerying the Archive' and it combines many different works from international artists.

One of them is the artist called Cecillia Barriga who in her work Two Queens has taken two of Hollywood silent cinema's biggest stars Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich in each of their signature roles and put them together in a 'fake' on screen lesbian love affair.

I made Nikolaj place of the month because it's such a special place both for it's art and the actual historical feeling the building has. It is one of the oldest churches in Copenhagen- originally from the 1200s I think and it has survived wars, fires and its tower can be seen in the city skyline everywhere, even though the actual chuch is really small.

Hanne G gets under your skin

Hanne G first caught my eye a few years back when she created a series of pieces called ‘Lady Weapons’ displayed at Helene Nybrog Contemporary. Her work is fascinating for its indirect attitude and I love the mix of hard objects made from soft materials.

Her latest works are a series of wall hangings called ‘You’re still in the running’ displaying pictures inspired by the competitive identity on reality-tv. They are cool and funny, and I love how she uses such an old fashion type of medium to comment on something modern.

Nicloe Kidman will play Lili Elbe

This is pretty big news. I just read that Nicole Kidman is to star as Einer Mogens Wegener, in a movie about the Danish painter who was the first man to have a sex change operation. Charlize Theron will be playing his wife the very talented painter and illustrator Gerda Wegener.
It is according to the hollywoodreporter.com that the story of this fascinating couple will be turned into a film with such heavy leading ladies as Nicole and Charlize. Based on a fictional bestseller by David Eberstorff about the couple, I wonder how much of the actual story we’re gonna get from the film. But any how it will be interesting to se.

Einer was married to Gerda Wegener and they were quite a famous couple in living in Copenhagen in the 1920s. Apparently Einar’s female alias Lili Elbe was created when Gerda, lacking a female model, asked him to pose for her as a woman – and he from then on developed as the transsexual Lili Elbe with the support of his wife.This is Lili Elbe after the sex change operation:
Gerda worked as a painter and illustrator creating beautiful painting and drawings for among others French Vougue.

Inspiring illustrations

The young and very talented artist Nan Na Hvass has worked in many fields and blessed many things with her drawings. I’m a total fan of her work for all the life and colours in that bizarre supernatural universe.
She has made the video for the Danish band Efterklang’s Mirador and also the cover for their album ‘Under Giant Trees’ - as you see above - these are really good examples of her style. But Hvass has done munch more than that.
She’s also the artist behind a great mural at VEGA nightclub here in Copenhagen and has created illustrations for t-shirts and this bag that I especially like.
I guess, what I find inspiring about her work is the many dimensions she can add to a single picture – it sort of pulls you in, in a weird almost surrealist way. Her style reminds me of a mixture of Danish artist HUSK MIT NAVN and the ever so cool Kitsune Noir – and then maybe just a little bit a Dali -without all the odd sex fantasy stuff though.

The House in my Head

Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing a few of Randi & Kartine’s art-installations. These two young Danish artists make the most wonderful houses that trigger your imagination with their surprising movements. They are model houses but with a lot of soul and life inside.
The exposition is shown at Gl. Strand and even though it is very small, it still proves that Randi & Katrine can bring weird and strange ideas to life. Shaped like human heads with the windows as eyes and doors as mouths the houses each have different moving features which adds life and mystery.

There is a playful and theatrical feeling in the exhibition that I don’t think I’ve experienced since I as a child saw pieces by Jean Tinguely – but Randi & Katrine are simpler in their work and leave more to your imagination and this really intrigues me. I hope it will one day be possible to see larger exhibitions with their work.