FORTIDEN FORAN MIG / THE PAST AHEAD OF ME

A dialogue exhibition by Marie Sjøvold and Astrid Kruse Jensen at Fotografisk Center

Curated by Kristine Kern  

THE PAST AHEAD OF ME

Text by curator Kristine Kern, Fotografisk Center

Time is a strange phenomenon. We regard it as forward-moving, yet it has strands going back into the past. The French philosopher Henri Bergson saw the present as the sum of several temporalities, since the past is contained in the now by virtue of memory and the future by virtue of expectation. This understanding of time is an appropriate framework in which to view the present exhibition, where two visual artists meet and exchange views around important tracks in life.

The Past Ahead of Me is an exhibition featuring Astrid Kruse Jensen and Marie Sjøvold. Thematically it revolves around closeness, family, frailty, grief and loss. The title of the exhibition is inspired by a translation of Marie Cardinal's Le passé empiété, but otherwise has no relation to the book. In this context the title refers to the fact that the past is always with us and is even sometimes a determinant of the present, understood in the sense that the past lays out a direction for the present and that the events of the past determine how we see our future.

At the exhibition The Past Ahead of Me the relations between time and events are more associative. And at the same time highly personal. Personal experience involves something universal. We can learn from one another's experiences and share other people's sorrows and joys. It is the same with the personal gaze, for example the photographer's. Her pictures are glimpses of a private world, and at the same time universal human observations we can all recognize.

When two photographers who share an interest in describing the fragility of life from an everyday poetic perspective meet, a special sensibility arises. It weaves the works in the exhibition together and elevates the overall statement beyond the immediate melancholy. Sadness is seen here as a natural part of life, and as a catalyst for new perspectives. Here there is also room for beauty and poetry: a special light, a particular landscape or a gesture evokes memories or associations. Reminds us of something that was. Or may be a stimulus to seeing the world anew. With a new sensitivity. The exhibition goes close to life and creates a new, visual language with which one can say the unsaid, describe the wordless; a kind of poetics of sorrow that elevates itself above the literal and creates images of the emotions we often have difficulty expressing.

The Past Ahead of Me is a dialogue exhibition in which I have combined two photographers whose works I think have much in common and much to say to each other. When two artists' works meet, much more can arise in the dialogue than if one shows the works separately. At Foto grafisk Center we often find this type of exhibition more interesting than the classic, mono lithic solo exhibition and it is therefore a format we have used to curate several exhibitions and with which we will also work in the future. For the exhibition The Past Ahead of Me both artists have created new works with a focus on dialogue and what they have in common, thematically as well as formally. Apart from photography it has also resulted in other types of pictures as well as objects.

I would like to thank Astrid Kruse Jensen and Marie Sjøvold for fantastic cooperation where despite physical distance we have nevertheless succeeded in meeting in conversations not only about the exhibition but also about what is important here in life. Thanks also to the author Josefine Klougart for her fine contribution to this publication. To Copenhagen Photo Festival, of which the exhibition is a part, for fine cooperation. My thanks goes too to Morten Brohammer and the DGIByen's installation teams skilled installation of the exhibition.

Here at FC, special thanks to exhibition assistant Pauline Koffi Vandet, Kevin Broadbery for layout etc., the rest of the team have as usual made a great contribution. Thanks to The Norwegian Embassy in Copenhagen and all those who have supported the exhibition: Aage og Johanne LouisHansens Fond, The Obel Family Foundation, The Danish Arts Foundation, The Committee for Visual Art in Copenhagen, Copenhagen City Council, BeckettFonden, L F Foghts Fond, OCA, Bergesenstiftelsen, The Danish Tennis Foundation, Vesterbro Local Council, The HielmstierneRosencroneske Foundation, Norsk Fotografisk Fond and Fritt Ord.