Beate Körner curated by Hanin Hannouch

Last Year‘s Self

20.08. – 04.10.2016

Skotið / Reykjavík Museum of Photography

Tryggvagata 15 / 6th floor, 101 Reykjavík
 3

4
2
staircase →

1
← elevator

1 Yellow Tension, 2015, acrylic on c-print, 30 x 43,5 cm

2 Yellow Shroud, 2015, acylic on c-print, 2 works, 30 x 45 cm each

3 Cocoon, 2015, varnish on c-print, 6 works, 30 x 45 cm each

4 Obliterations, 2015, varnish on c-print, 9 works, 20 x 30 cm each

“Last Year’s Self”, curated by Hanin Hannouch, displays one of
the strategies we use to separate between who we were back
then and who we are now. It also shows an artistic response
to feelings of anxiety and dissatisfaction at a previous state
of our being. The strain between past and present can lead,
sometimes, to our annihilation of our former selves.  

This exhibition presents photographs shot by Beate Körner of

one of her past performances, archiving her restless body as it
contorts itself and occupies the space in different positions. At a
later period, she manipulated the prints by painting over them,
effacing herself, at times, beyond recognition. 

A closer look at the intersection between the initial photograph

and subsequent painting evokes a tension between two distinct
moments in time, making out of the person we were a formless
shadow, and trapping our actions in a sticky cocoon, almost
impossible to exit.

Beate Körner (*1987) lives and works in Reykjavík, Iceland and

Potsdam, Germany. She has studied Fine Arts in Germany and
the UK and was a master student with Prof. Toon Verhoef. In
her work, she uses performative strategies as well as video
installation, text and forms of drawing. Her work has been
exhibited widely in Germany (Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, Städtische
Galerie Karlsruhe, Kunstverein Wilhelmshöhe), as well as in the
UK, Norway, Chile, Russia and Iceland.
www.beatekoerner.com

Hanin Hannouch (*1989) is an art historian, film theorist and

the creator of kinoimages.com. She has earned degrees in
Art History, Archaeology and Museology in Lebanon, France
and Germany and is writing her PhD thesis at IMT Lucca (Italy),
dealing with the art historical ideas of Sergei Eisenstein. At the
moment, she is a Guest Researcher at Jacobs University Bremen
(Germany).
 snúra / cord

Performance on Menningarnótt
20.08.2016, 20:00 – 22:00
Grófarhús, Tryggvagata 15, 101 Reykjavík
starting on the 6th floor

On Culture Night, Beate Körner will transform Grófarhús into an

interactive spatial drawing.

The performance is based on one of the works on display,

where she uses a yellow string painted on her photograph to
manipulate a flat picture. She will borrow the same yellow string
and use it, this time, to transform the architecture. All around the
staircases and parts of the interior and exterior of The Reykjavík
City Library, Reykjavík Municipal Archives and the Reykjavík
Museum of Photography, the yellow line will instill an element of
tension and distortion into the once familiar setting.

By contorting her body as she weaves the string, the artist will
deny the material its own natural straightness, favoring a playful
approach: She will connect different parts of the building with
the cord, change its installation throughout the performance,
and warmly invite the audience to join in.
Wherever there is friction between the cord and other elements,
the cord becomes a musical string producing weird sounds,
whenever it is in a knot, the passersby are encouraged to
try to unravel it or add to its complexity, and whenever it lies
peacefully on the ground, the audience can feel free to wrap it
around themselves. Together, both audience and artist, create
the performance and modify it at the same time.

This peaceful and playful interaction unfolds much like children’s

tin can telephone. It highlights both our own ability to fashion
the cord’s very material according to our desires, same as we
fashion our current selves, as we engage with our inner life as
well as others.