Anna Andersson, Cara Tolmie, Isak Sundström, Jakob Krajcik, Jenny Bergman, Lina Bjerneld, Magnus Thierfelder Tzotzis, Nacho Tatjer, Nanna Nordström, Nathalie Gabrielsson, Roxy Farhat, Stephen McKenzie, Susanna Jablonski, Zhou Tao
8.5 – 14.6 2020
Bonniers konsthall, Torsgatan 19, Stockholm
The crisis in the Swedish art world, as a consequence of the covid-19 pandemic and the forced or voluntary isolation experienced by us all, is a reminder that alone we do not feel particularly good. Therefore, five art organisations – Bonniers Konsthall, hangmenProjects, Index, Mint and Signal – are experimenting with a joint project and have produced the exhibition I Am Not One.
The pandemic is not the theme of this exhibition, but its origin. Through an associative chain of thought, a number of works and artists have been selected by the respective parties. Rather than a concordant curatorial argument, the exhibition can be considered a kind of montage. The works offer angles of approach to the situation we find ourselves in right now. Art is a place for collaborative thinking and it does not back away from what is difficult. Instead of presenting answers or solutions, art allows us to remain with the complicated and paradoxical that permeates our world: existentially, poetically and materially.
This collaboration is one way of drawing attention to our various organisations’ practices and institutional conditions. The crisis currently unfolding in the Swedish cultural sector is probably the worst in modern times and we will need various kinds of help to cope. An evident need of solidarity and support has arisen, as well as a desire to show that art in everyday life must carry on.
Who knows when we may meet again, it will probably be a while yet. But when it is possible, we wish to gather you all for a conversation where everyone is welcome to discuss with us what we want to happen after the crisis. An occasion to examine new forms of collaboration and reflect on the future of art, artists and art institutions. Perhaps this exhibition can be seen as a first invitation.