I visited the contemporary art gallery Moderna Museet in Malmö, Sweden on August 26, to watch ‘Statolit’ a performance created by artist Adèle Essle Zeiss. Suspension and balance (arrested movement giving stillness) was presented in a gallery setting.
Three dancers sit on planks of wood which are balanced like seesaws; suspended from the ceiling of the gallery. Small movements in the dancers bodies cause a change in their weight, and the much larger movement of the plank up or down. The dancers sit very still, and move very gently to reposition themselves on different parts of the plank. A counter weight of a bag of cement or similar, maintains their balance and the plank being roughly level although bent due to the loading. It is under tension.
Gallery description of the performance
Film of a performance of Statolit
Conceptual art
I liked this performance. I liked that there wasn’t a separate stage, and that the audience simply sat on the floor of the performance area. It was a very quiet without noise and indeed, it had great stillness! However, you knew that this stillness was only possible due to the tension of the materials. The plank of wood was bent due to this. And the bodies of the dancers or performers had to be held, and held still. It’s not something which you experienced but something which you knew. I almost wanted to hold my breath. The simplicity of it appealed: it’s clever. A large bag of concrete as a counter-weight, taped to the plank – perfect. Why make it more complicated? I like that. Brilliant!
A suspension bridge
The city of Malmö in southern Sweden is linked to Copenhagen, Denmark by the Öresund Bridge which is the second longest in Europe. At the centre of the bridge there is a suspended section which leads to an artificial island and then a tunnel to reach Denmark.
While this wonder of civil engineering had no influence on the art work presented, I couldn’t help but think of it once I visited the gallery, given its importance to Malmö and the whole of the region.
