The Past Ahead of Me is a dialogue between two prominent Nordic visual artists, both of whom are in the middle of their careers; Astrid Kruse Jensen and Marie Sjøvold. The exhibition, curated by the director of Fotografisk Center, Kristine Kern, shows new artworks with a special focus on what the two artists have in common thematically and in their approach to the artwork.
Grief and loss are two recurring themes in this exhibition, which is also about beauty, fragility and poetic visions: a special light, a particular landscape or a gesture evokes memories or associations. Reminds us of something that was. Or may be a stimulus to seeing the world anew. With a new sensitivity. The exhibition goes close to life and creates a new, visual language with which one can say the unsaid, describe the wordless; a kind of poetics of sorrow that elevates itself above the literal and creates images of the emotions we often have difficulty expressing.
When two photographers who share an interest in describing the fragility of life from an everyday poetic perspective meet, a special sensibility arises. It weaves the works in the exhibition together and elevates the overall statement beyond the immediate melancholy. Sadness is seen here as a natural part of life, and as a catalyst for new perspectives.
Personal experience involves something universal. We can learn from one another’s experiences and share other people’s sorrows and joys. It is the same with the personal gaze, for example the photographer’s. Her pictures are glimpses of a private world, and at the same time universal human observations we can all recognize.
For the exhibition, which in addition to photographs also contains other objects and imagery, Astrid Kruse Jensen and Marie Sjøvold have created new works based on conversations about family, intimacy, grief and the courage to be fragile. It has been a dialogue at a distance that has also revolved around creating intimate relationships and collaborations in a time where you are unable to meet in person.
The Past Ahead of Me is part of Copenhagen Photo Festival. During the exhibition, a small publication is published with text by author Josefine Klougart and Fotografisk Center also provides educational material. The exhibition is supported by Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansen Fonden, The Obel Family Foundation, the Norwegian embassy in Copenhagen, The Danish Arts Foundation and Rådet for Visuel Kunst, Københavns Kommune as well as Beckett Fonden, L. F. Foghts Fond, OCA, Bergesenstiftelsen, Norsk Fotografisk Fond and Fritt Ord.
The Past Ahead of Me
A dialogue exhibition with Astrid Kruse Jensen and Marie Sjøvold
12th of June to 15th of August, 2021
Fotografisk Center
Staldgade 16
DK – 1699 København V
