Opening during Malmö Gallery Week
Thursday 24.9 12-8 pm
The exhibition will run 24.9 – 8.11 2020
At a time when photography is once again going through radical changes propelled by technology, Bengtsson and Paludan’s exhibition Soft Layers uses the history of photography as a starting point for discussing where it is potentially heading. Much in the same way that the portability of 35mm cameras drove a whole new way of seeing the world, such as The New Vision movement of the 1920s, digital technology has changed and democratized both the way we use and consume the medium today. Soft Layers addresses photography as a language in constant flux and raises questions about what is lost and gained with each new shift in its vocabulary.
Alongside her practice, Kristina Bengtsson has worked as a printer at various photo laboratories around Scandinavia while in recent years, Michala Paludan has taught photography theory and history. The intersection between these two personal perspectives, with an intimate understanding of the medium, is where this exhibition takes its starting point.
Bengtsson works with photography, sculpture and text. With sociology as her main area of interest she often uses everyday objects in combination with pop-cultural references as a way to activate a critical engagement around representation and understanding. Paludan works with photography, installation and text. Her work often centres on issues around power – how it is produced, manifested and negotiated within the political landscape. In her project presented at Format Paludan uses her own personal history to reflect upon family, photography and power.
During the exhibition Paludan and Bengtsson will be inviting the public to partake in three group reading sessions hosted at the gallery. During these sessions they will examine three key points in the historical development of photography and jointly discuss various positions and movements within this. Each session will be led by Bengtsson and Paludan who will make use of the works in the exhibition as references and anchors for the discussion. Each session will take approximately two hours including a break. Throughout the exhibition period the texts will be available to read at Gallery Format and after each session notes from the group readings will be added to the texts.
The reading group sessions will take place on the following dates:
Saturday 26th September at 2 pm
Thursday 8th October at 6 pm
Thursday 22nd October at 6 pm
Places are limited, to book a seat please email:
fotografi[AT]galleriformat[DOT]nu
With support of Nordic Culture Point
