Phantom Limb at Danish National Gallery, Copenhagen
June 2, 2017
As part of a mostly performative one day event curated by Institut For Succes at the Danish National Gallery, artist Lukas Hofmann / Saliva transformed the vast gallery's foyer into a contemplative therapeutic space where he performed together with four young individuals. The group clothed in Louise Lyngh Bjerregaard’s garments migrated among many actions, exuding a melancholic aura and occasionally flattening their existence into a 2D distorted reflection of their identities by pressing their faces and bodies against a large pane of glass. The performance spanned over three hours and marked a certain initiation and cross-over into the situation as envisioned by Institut for Succes.
The formation then moved on to the fountain in front of gallery. Half of the performers lied down in the water, while the others tried to pick up their limp and soaked bodies. The graveness of this act inspired by the equally poetic and scientific question of whether another person would be able to carry one's body in the case of one's death was enhanced by the tremble that the shivering cold water sent through the performer's bodies.
Performing: Oliver Haase, Lukas Hofmann / Saliva, Haddy Jammeh, Maya Leroux, Louie Zingenberg
Clothing: Louise Lyngh Bjerregaard
