Goldin+Senneby are a Stockholm-based artist duo who have been working together since 2004. Their practice is conceptually driven, mostly project-based and collaborative in nature. In the past, their work has taken the form of publications, installation, performances and other discursive projects. Even their name is a conceptual play – as it mirrors the sanitised brand identity that global corporations contrive today. The pair have presented their work for institutions including: Artspace, New Zealand, Kadist, Paris, The Power Plant, Toronto, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, ‘The Eighth Climate’, 11th Gwangu Biennnale, ‘The Deep of the Modern’, Manifesta 9, Genk and ‘In living contact’, 28th Bienal de Sao Paulo.
Goldin+Senneby, Money will be like dross with Kunstgiesserei (Material Research). Production still, 2012
The Institute of Modern Art (IMA) is host to the first solo showing of the artists in Australia. This exhibition is the second presentation following its premiere at Tensta konsthall, Stockholm last year, curated by Director Maria Lind. This iteration, curated by IMA Co-Directors Aileen Burns and Johan Lundh, will feature bootlegs and replicas of major works, including Headless (2007-ongoing), a nine-year performance engaging with themes such as state sovereignty, surveillance, and strategies for withdrawal; The Nordenskiöld Model (2010-ongoing), referencing the scheme set out by 18th century metallurgist August Nordenskiöld; A3 The Plot (2015), an act of process and theatrical property development; and After Microsoft (2006-2007), which engages with the phasing out of what is regarded as one of the most digitally distributed photographs in history.
In addition to these core works from the last decade, audiences will also see the outcomes of several collaborations, specifically orchestrated for this show. These include a new work with Ryan Presley, authored by Goldin+Senneby, but created in conjunction with the Brisbane-based Indigenous artist responding to ideas about land ownership, environmental concerns, and Native Title. Melbourne-based curator and researcher Camila Marambio and choreographer and performer Amaara Raheem have been invited to act as interlocutors and to produce a new performative installation, Meth(otology) Lab: making TIME (2017), which will add another layer to the exhibition. Goldin+Senneby have also enlisted UK-based historian Angus Cameron and Swedish magician Malin Nilsson, who they have worked with before. Cameron is a long-time spokesperson for the duo, and for this exhibition he will activate their project Headless (2007-ongoing), while Nilsson rounds it off with a debut magic demonstration called ‘Acid Money’. The collaborative nature of Goldin+Senneby’s practice speaks to their commitment to engage with multiplicity in their projects and I am curious to see what connections can be made by the addition of local voices in the exhibition.
Goldin+Senneby, Headless. From the Public Record, with Angus Cameron (economic geographer), K.D. (fictional author), Kim Einarsson (curator/writer), Anna Heymowska (set designer), Marcus Lindeen (director), Eva Rexed (actor). Installation view Index, Stockholm, 2009. Courtesy the artists and The Institute of Modern Art, Queensland
The artists engage with ideas directly relating to finance, distribution, economies, currencies, and often employ the language derived from late-capitalism. The connections between their works and current issues in Australia are particularly timely as the couple table issues, such as intergenerational housing market challenges, Indigenous sovereignty and land-rights, the selling of state assets to international companies, the increase of national security, both physical and digital, and the mining of Australian resources by international corporations.
Tess Maunder is a writer and curator, currently working between Australia, Asia and the United States.
Institute of Modern Art
Until 10 March, 2018
Queensland
