Marte Eknæs
Escalate
24. September - 30. October 2011

According to the National Institute of Building Sciences, non-crash resistant bollards are “perceived impediments to access” and address the actions of two groups.

• Law-abiding persons who comply with civil prescriptions of behavior as defined by the manner in which bollards are put to use;

• Potentially threatening and disruptive persons for whom bollard applications are proscriptive by announcing their behavior is anticipated and additional levels of security await them.

The Bollard, Whole Building Design Guide

For her first solo exhibition in London, Norwegian artist Marte Eknæs presents a site specific installation consisting of two and three dimensional works that explore and expand the idea of sculpture. Connected through various manifestations of circular shapes and motion present in the looped video and mechanics of the escalator, the works come together in a multi-faceted formal investigation. By including urban planning elements designed for protection and control of our movement such as anti-slip tape, a bollard and a panic bar, Eknæs raises issues of how devices and objects are used to shape behaviour in public space. These features taken out of their original context are not only present in the exhibition as a political comment, but simultaneously claim their presence as sculptural objects.

The sculptures not only reference actions prompted by certain structures but also act as stand-ins for human concerns and emotions, thereby entering the sphere of the more private and subjective. The work Enhancement, 2011 - a conglomerate of objects representing desire, self-improvement and entertainment - acts as an architectural obstacle thereby restricting the movement in the gallery space. In this way the installation forms a full circle in which Eknæs own work becomes subject to the same questions she raises.

• Francesca Colussi, Marte Eknæs at Between Bridges, Domus, 2011 (EN)