National Costume

2017

Within the last two years the Danish government has: - advertised in Lebanese newspapers to warn off refugees, - decided in favor of a “jewelry law” allowing the police to seize jewelry off of refugees, - decided against accepting any more EU refugee quotas, - decided that any person is not to be considered Danish in statistics if at least one parent is from a non-Western country no matter their passport or place of birth.

It is Made Up, 2017, Ceramic sculptures on used furniture

Individual titles:

Why so sturdy? – Potato woman

Oh, such long time you have you been around – Girl from Amager knitting

So stubborn/ constantly reassembled - Female Fish Vendor

Is it the inside or outside? – Fisherman

When you pretend to be something else – Girl from Aalborg

Under construction - Blacksmith

Copies of original Danish Figurines first created between 1900 and 1960, all with a maximum height of 31cm/12 in.

Original titels: Kartoffelkvinden, Pige fra Amager der Strikker, Fiskerkone, Fisker, Pige fra Aalborg, Smed.

In the 1800s and to some degree continued into the 1900s, the people in the cities had become particularly interested in the people of the countryside. They considered the farmer the most real of all Danish and the farmer became a symbol of the real hardworking Dane.

The Danish national costume, which was considered used by people in the countryside, was presented as a book for the first time in 1864 as a result of travels done by the artist F. C. Lund. Later, other artist relied on his lithographs in their own continuation of representing people of the countryside. However, as was discovered in the 1960s, the images were mainly a construction and the only objects today considered, without a doubt, costumes, were their hats.

Very Exclusive Figurines, 2017, Porcelain figurines on white shelves

Individual titles:

Velfærdssamfundet - Welfare society

Frihed - Freedom

Tillid -Trust

Lighed for loven - Equality for the law

Kønsligestilling - Gender equality

Det Danske Sprog - The Danish language

Foreningsliv og Frivillighed - Associations and voluntary work

Frisind - Liberality/tolerance

Hygge - Hygge

Den Kristne Kulturarv - The Christian heritage

The former Minister for Culture in Denmark, Bertel Haarder, carried out the process of creating a Denmark Canon. People were to send in suggestions as to what should be on the list. A small group of curators then narrowed down the suggestions to a total of 20, which were put up for a vote online between 15th and 22nd November 2016. A total of 326,298 people voted and today the 10 above-mentioned values constitute the Denmark Canon.

Transparency is such a mess – it means both; that you look right through it and that something is clear. Please don’t look through it. Welcome to the present. 2017, Vinyl hung from ceiling

En Dansk Kyst (eng; A Danish Coast), 2017, Projected video/animation and audio

Based on the painting “En Dansk Kyst” by J. Th. Lundbye, 1848/49.

Audio selected from:

Text source no. 1: “1000 års Kunsthistorie” (eng; “Arthistory of 1000 years”), 2014 (TV-program) English translation by the artist

Text source no. 2: “J. Th. Lundbye: dagbogsoptegnelser” (eng; ”J. Th. Lundbye: diary records”), 1918 (book, preface) Danish by the artist