Installation view, Cirkulations Centralen, Malmö, 2014 (black box, 50 inch monitor on floor from .




BETWEEN THE TWO OF US

The minimalistic videoinstallation, Between the Two of Us/Mellan mig och dig, is a video documentation of the original performance in front of camera was made during an art residency at Vandalorum Center for Art and Design in August 2014. It is a reenactment of the artists own passport photo. The work brings forward a critical stance on the migration and xenophobia.

Migration has polarized European politics for decades, a transformed landscape with open boarders for the ones on the right side of them, this accentuates a series of questions. Developments in Iraq, Syria, Gaza and Ukraine and Swedish national politics is significant for the configuration of Between the Two of Us.

In Between the Two of Us, several aspects engaging Hallberg are coming together; to bring forward and critique the ambiguity between the private and the public, between the narrative and the documentary and between the watcher and the watched.

The installation was first made for RUM 203 at The Museum of the Region in Jönköping, Sweden. It opened in the week of the national elections. The video does in this time contain a reference to all portaits posted in public space of politicians hence it is a reinactment of the artists passport photo brought to life via the music track. The serious face becomes affected by the acuteness of the state of the country as the tunes keep filling the void in the space.

The space has a ramp leading down to the exhibition hall. This is integrated in the installation. The only thing on any of the walls is a video monitor with the reinactment of the artists passport photo. The space is indeed a white cube (even the floor and the ramp are white). The space is filled with music, coming from bulky speakers placed to the side of the ramp. The interpretations of the Swedish National Anthem in four languages are played at a solid, not loud, volume. With 10 second intermission. In 2009 Hallberg was in Oakland, California for 10 months. Back in Europe it was election for the EU. There were far right parties trying to be elected in the democratic system, and at the same time breaching the foundation of civil liberties and human rights. It was during this time the artist started to state questions around the national sybols. Can one claim the anthem from the authorian nationalists by having it translated and performed in other languages? Would it still be precieved as a national anthem?. The project was realized for the next election coincide with the national election.


TEXTS

- Susanne Nilsson, Kruttornet >>>
- P4, Sveriges Radio, Här sjungs Du gamla du fria på andra språk än svenska , Hilda Ärlemyr >>>
- JP, 20140910, Att inte ansluta sig till Jönköpings handling, vad betyder det? Anna Viola Hallberg och Ulla Manns >>>
- JP, 20140819, Mötet mellan Anna och dig, Emma Johansson >>>


PUBLIC APEARANCES

- June 6th, 2014,First call for public paricipation, FB+twitter+email
- June 6th, 2014, Live performance at National History Museum in Stockholm three of the for versions were performed live at the Official National Day Celibration, LINK HISTORISKA
- July 1-2, 2014, Klocktornet, Almedalen, Visby, (During Almedalsveckan/Politician's Week, a liminal phase where politicians and lobbyists socilize with each other and the general public. Produced in collaboration with Art Consultant and Gotland Art Museum.
- August 27th, 2014, Call for public paricipation, same day that a number of towns in Småland allowd a nazi party SvP to hold election speaches in public space.
- August 30th, 2014, Call for public paricipation, same day SvP allowed to hold election speaches in public space and to march (in uniform) in central Stockholm (From Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Skeppsholmen and back.
- September 10-14th, 2014, Call for public paricipation (Election week) Same week the minimalist installation Between The Two of Us opens at Jönköpings County Museum i Jönköping.
- September, 27th, 2014, Call for public paricipation in Malmö as a direct response to the mass distributed mail sent from Skåne Partiet to house holds in Skåne.
- 27th, 2014, Cirkulations Centralen, Malmö

Several pushes were made by the musicians, the producer and Hallberg during 2014 in addition to the above. People were asked to open their windows and play the versions as a protest towards the growing far right movemnet. During this active time both Bjorklund and Hallberg recived threat letters from far right people. The official openings were controlled by Swedish Security police

EXHIBITION TEXT (Swedish version)

Videoinstallation av Anna Viola Hallberg, RUM 203, Jönköpings läns museum
Utställningsperiod: 10 september to 5 oktober, 2014
Vi finns i världen, en värld vi alla bebor. Platsen mellan mig och dig är delad, på ett ofrånkomligt sätt, både fysiskt och existentiellt. Utan andra är vi intet. Vi är ensamma, utsatta, i en tomhet.

Under de senaste decennierna har stora migrationsströmmar, ett förändrat Europa med öppningar inom EU och stängda gränser för dem utanför, aktualiserat en rad frågor. En av dessa är just frågan om vår delade plats i världen, om ansvar gentemot sin nästa. I det nya platsspecifika videoverket Mellan mig och dig tar sig Anna Viola Hallberg an detta. I verket möts något som engagerat Hallberg i över ett decennium: att synliggöra och kritiskt granska ambivalensen mellan det privata och det offentliga, mellan det narrativa och det dokumentära, mellan betraktaren och det betraktade. Vad är den enskilda människans ansvar gentemot andra, vart placerar vi oss i relation till institutioner, nationsgränser, medborgarskap och politiska ideer?

Utvecklingen i Irak, Syrien, Gaza och Ukraina under det senaste året och det svenska inrikespolitiska läget har styrt gestaltningen till RUM 203. De fyra nytolkningarna av den svenska nationalsången integreras här till videoverket Mellan mig och dig. Videoverket är en iscensättning av konstnärens eget passfoto. Passet, så åtråvärt och helt centralt för möjligheten till förflyttning över nationsgränser, passet med rätt nationstillhörighet, passet som den papperslösa saknar blir det nav kring vilket sångerna finns.


STATEMENT (Swedish)

Öppna ett fönster är en konstintervention, för att ge den auktoritära nationalismen ett motstånd. Interventionen uppmanar till att inte låta tystnaden tala. Att inte låta den förtryckande rösten dominera. Den uppmanar till civilkurag, hen som är tyst samtycker.
Anna Viola Hallberg, Visby 1 juli 2014


PANEL ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH

In the exhibition space for Between the Two of Us a panel was set to focus on Freedom of Speech in the context of art. A writer from Honduras (protected identity) with a refuge in Jönköping as part of The International Cities of Refuge Network, an association of cities and regions around the world dedicated to the value of Freedom of Expression.The International Cities of Refuge Network is an association of cities and regions around the world dedicated to the value of Freedom of Expression. NN (poet) Anna Viola Hallberg (artist) and Erik Halkjaer (press secretary Red Cross). The panel was moderated by Lars Mogensen (Journalist and radio host for Filosofiska rummet).

A talk about artistic practices, violence and human rights. Produced by Kultur och utveckling/Landstinget i Region Jönköping, Museum of the Region and the municipality of Jönköping.