The Vendsyssel Kunstmuseum (Hjørring, Denmark) presents the exhibition The Breath of Leviathan – The creature of the sea, the first solo exhibition of the photographer Josephine Douet in Denmark. The exhibition focuses on the relationship between nature and man, beliefs and myths around nature.
The exhibition will run from January 29 to June 6, 2022.
The Breath of Leviathan – The Creature of the sea by the French contemporary artist Josephine Douet focuses on the relationship between nature and man during the Anthropocene, and on the changes in the landscape of the Vendsyssel and its surroundings, in Denmark. It is a black and dreamlike visual poem dedicated to immersing the viewer in the heart of the phenomenon.
Joséphine Douet lives in Paris but spends part of the year there, in a small fishing village on the tip of the country. Her work explores the wild and the sacred in the relationship between man, nature and death. In recent years, she has seen the landscape disappear under the influence of ongoing climate change. The exhibition wants to make these changes visible through the artist’s images and at the same time invite to a reflection and conversation about the consequences of climate change for nature and man. In Northern Denmark, the landscape is particularly exposed to weather influences – a process exacerbated by climate change, of which the severe winter storms of recent years are just one example. The country is shrinking with disturbing force, and villages that once stood several hundred meters from the coast are now crashing into the waves.
The photographic works deal with the erosion of the landscape in a reduced twilight colors palette, which at the same time evokes an atmosphere of almost metaphysical nature. This aspect – that nature contains a force that leaves man powerless – is a recurring theme of the exhibition. The title The Breath of Leviathan – The creature of the sea also emphasizes this, as it refers to the Old Testament, in which a mythical creature devours the shore and thus predicts the end of the world. Faced with danger, humans only know how to invent beliefs for themselves.
In addition to the photographic works, the public can discover a large-format installation as well as a video work. On the occasion of the exhibition, a richly illustrated publication is available, with the works of Josephine Douet and the texts of famous Danish author Josefine Klougart.
Joséphine Douet was a finalist for the 2021 Libraryman Award with this photographic project.
The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Kastrupgårdsamlingen, Copenhagen, Denmark and supported by: Institut Français, DJFotografernes Ophavsretsfond, Grosserer L.F. Foghts Fond, Augustinus Fonden, Knud Højgaards Fond, Beckett-Fonden, Gangstedfonden, Spar Nord Fonden, Konsul George Jorck og Hustru Emma Jorcks Fond.
Information
Vendsyssel Kunstmuseum
Vendsyssel Kunstmuseum, Hjørring, Danemark P. Nørkjærs Plads 15 9800 Hjørring, Danemark
January 22, 2022 to June 06, 2022
