internal object x
Phantasy
«I am your phantasy, and you are mine.»
-xx
The
project seeks to ally with the viewer in a joint creative process wherein we
may encounter ourselves. Focus is on the association of the beholder with the
art object, where the objects’ mutual relations and spatial constellation play
as important a role as individual expressions.
The exhibitions title refers to psychoanalyst Melanie Klein's object relations
theory. Klein uses the term “phantasy” to indicate subconscious mental
processes that arise when we encounter external phenomena. These processes are
converted into a set of “internal objects”; entities within ourselves that are
shaped by traits we have projected onto them. The internal objects are perceived
as intrinsically related and constantly feed back into our experience of the
people and world around us.
The pieces in the exhibition serve as both triggers and recipients of mental
projections. The art space is left in a crossfire of
projections between artist and onlooker, inciting a flow of associations. What
we see, think and feel becomes the true object of study. In this, the provisional expression and the
theatrical scenography play a double role: they invite fantasy, but at the same
time, break the illusion, and thereby make it possible for the viewer to
identify their own role in the piece.
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All photos: Øystein
Thorvaldsen