Splinter
Camilla Edström Ödemark
22.2.2018 @ 19.00-20.30
A character sits on a flowery two-seat sofa. The face of the character is not visible to the viewer. At the small table in front of the sofa lies a book. The book is written by a fairly unknown author. The book is about the Finnish Civil War.
“Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.” -Edmund Burke
[The character reads about the Finnish Civil War: the events appearing as close.]
”Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” -George Santayana
[The distance between the book and the character may appear as an arm's length.]
”Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” -George Santayana
[But there are cavities within the text, cavities within the story.]
”Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.” -Sara Shepard
[We put our fingers in the cavities.]
”Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.” -Winston Churchill
[We choose what to fill in.]
“Those unable to catalog the past are doomed to repeat it.” -Lemony Snicket
Welcome to the screening and project presentation of Splinter, a video project by Camilla Edström Ödemark:
Marking a century since the Finnish Civil War, Splinter examines our understanding and cataloging of past events and their effect on how we construct ideas of identity, truth, and future. A voice without an origin describes scenes played out in a room inhabited by an anonymous character. The impossibilities of capturing the complexity of a seemingly mundane chain of events are made visible. Logic ruptures when the difference between inner and outer, detail and entirety, objective and subjective truth are erased.
Malmö- based visual- and media artist Camilla Edström Ödemark (FIN) takes a strong interest in identity, alienation, and capitalism. Focusing on how norms are represented and established through popular culture and myth, the key question to her practice is what structures enables and limits Western identity. Edström Ödemark’s work has been shown both nationally and internationally and in 2019 she will present a solo show at Galleri Sinne in Helsinki.
During the evening Edström Ödemark will give a brief presentation to the project and after the screening, the visitors are encouraged to partake in an informal discussion about their/our/a relation to history and national identity.
Splinter is founded by Swedish Cultural Foundation and the evening is made possible by the Swedish- Finnish Cultural Foundation.
www.edstromodemark.com