Press release, September 2023
On The Field of Playing: ACT 1 operates within the terrain of domestication, specifically the practice of training and taming of our canine companions. In Ville Vidø’s theatrical universe, we witness the convoluted play between trainer and animal, a reflection of the systems of power, as well as (for some) the debilitating codes of behavior in our efficiency-centric world.
Navigating this societal framework with bipolar disorder has forced Vidø to use survival tactics of role-playing as a masquerade of power, consistently battling the expectations of obedience and mental agility. Submission and dominance: Depression and mania, become dichotomous forces and a metaphor for alienating and dividing hierarchies. The fictional characters of The Field insist we co-speculate, to dream forward more caring structures – allowing alternative narratives, individuality, and unique experiences.
On The Field of Playing: ACT 1 marks Ville Vidø’s debut solo show in the form of a tactile installation incorporating photographic sculptures, sound score, and site-specific chalk illustrations merging the indoor and outdoor spaces of the gallery. The works will develop and travel to Fotografisk Center as part of the exhibition Ung dansk fotografi ‘23 (opening on November 3) where Vidø is one of five selected exhibitors.
Ville Vidø, The Practices and Actors, 2023.
Ville Vidø (b. 1994, DK) is a transdisciplinary artist and creator of cinematic worlds based in Berlin. Ville Vidø’s surrealistic and visually immersive multimedia work – fusing sculptural installation with photography and video – creates emotional playgrounds to propose heavier questions concerning the dynamic of domination and submission, as well as the interplay between domestication and wildness. Pulling from personal experience, Vidø seeks to analyze the influence of capitalism on the classification of mental illness and madness and its profound effect on the portrayal of nonbinary bodies and dyke identities.
Curator: Laura Gerdes-Miranda
Talents: Nomi Sladko, Magdo, Huncho
Technical design development (steel structures): Charlie Boy
Sound score: Pim Sem Benjamin
3D technical support: Beth
Opening: Thursday, September 21, from 5pm.
Exhibition period: September 21 - September 30, 2023.
Supported by Statens Kunstfond.