POOL

2020, Afgang 2020, Kunsthal Charlottenborg

Painted metal construction, wood stained birch plywood 

modules, ceramic earthenware vessels from mixed and re-used clay, dyed cotton shirts, people

Photos by David Stjernholm

“I now propose the bottle as hero”

– Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction”

Pool is an installation containing a number of different elements—a wooden ring consisting of 12 modular parts, a large arching metal construction, ceramic vessels, several sets of clothing, cushions, and a small publication. The installation alludes to places designated for swimming and immersion, such as the public pool or its more luxurious counterpart, the spa or wellness center. The pool is a social space of recovery, play and physical activity, and a place with an underlying feeling of intimate awkwardness. The artist imagines Pool as a meeting place, where people can interact and hang out. Throughout the show, the work will be inhabited and activated in different ways, both during the opening, and later on, when the work will accommodate different kinds of social events, and the installation will change according to the needs and desires of those who gather there.

“Pool” as a verb can also mean to combine (things, such as resources) in a common pool or effort. By bringing elements of eclectic nature together, such as different kinds of materials, different voices, and different bodies, the installation attempts to become a system for categorization and unification. The installation was inspired by the pool’s potential to create a frame or a space, within which fluctuating or heterogeneous content can be contained. Seeing such content requires a certain perspective. It’s easy to admire adventures and heroes, but harder to see the possibilities in everyday life, and in things such as containers and recipients. But perhaps the container can be seen as a new kind of hero.

Text by Helga Just Christoffersen