Pernilla Zetterman – Turn Down Center Line

Pernilla Zetterman – Turn Down Center Line

Exhibition: February 4 – March 12, 2011
Address: Bergstr. 22, 10115 Berlin

Gallery TAIK is delighted to present the Helsinki School artist Pernilla Zetterman in a solo exhibition from February 4 to March 12, 2011. The exhibition takes place in cooperation with the gallery Swedish Photography.

The work of Pernilla Zetterman is characterized by an intense exploration of topics such as human control, discipline and the exertion of power. The photographs of the series "Close" result from her personal experience and deal with equestrian culture and its associated cultural codes. Using close-ups Pernilla Zetterman shows the details of the bodies of horses and riding utensils. The study of conflicting emotions is the starting point as well as the central idea of the series.

The antagonism becomes apparent in her images which depict the contrast between love and closeness, represented in the close-ups of the animals, and seeming coolness, represented in the still lifes of the riding equipment. Equally, the title of the series "Close" implies the ambivalence of a relationship that may oscillate between intimate closeness and reserved dissociation.

The intimate relationship with another being - human and animal alike - is marked by a conflict that has become the central idea of her work. The video work "Close" reveals the knowledge that the borders between sensations such as intimacy and distance, submission and dominance often blur. In her film "When" the artist refers to the narrow line between strict self-discipline and compulsive self-control when unceasingly swinging the tool intended for controlling the animals above her own head.

Pernilla Zetterman was born in Stockholm in 1970. Her work has already been shown in many renowned exhibitions throughout Europe. Recently, her art was presented at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg in the course of the exhibition "Helsinki School - On Top of the Iceberg" and at the Helsinki City Art Museum in the group exhibition "Helsinki School - Photography and Video NOW". The first monograph of the Swedish artist was published by Hatje Cantz Verlag in 2009, with an accompanying text by Urs Stahel (Fotomuseum Winterthur). 2004 Pernilla Zetterman was awarded the Victor Fellowship Award of the Hasselblad Foundation.