Memories of Lakes Lost

4-channel video installation 29′
Glass objects
Video object
Cecilia Hillström Gallery
3 October – 1 November 2024

Hjelm presents a poetic meditation through a film installation, filmic objects, and glass sculptures unfolding into an immersive experience.

In the monumental four-channel film installation, music is the starting point. The film takes us through a series of panoramic sequences of landscapes accompanied by Johann Sebastian Bach’s 1st and 2nd cello suites, in a new interpretation by South African classical guitarist Derek Gripper. It is as if the film follows the music, rather than vice-versa. In addition, a tanpura drone and a long-necked fretless lute, common in Indian classical music, are barely audible in the background. The show also features a series of glass sculptures with light animations and a filmic object adding to a multidimensional experience.

Music has played a crucial part in several of Mats Hjelm’s previous film projects; from black gospel music in Black Like Him (2007) to “Passacaglia” by Anna Ignatowicz-Glinska in his latest gallery show, Simple Sabotage Field Guide (2021).

This exhibition marks a shift in Hjelm’s practice, allowing the wordless, non-narrative experience of the film to be in full focus. Perhaps the perspective is not even human, and the protagonist may be nature itself nurturing deep memories of human presence. People occasionally emerge on the screens, yet more like a distant perception or a slowly fading image.

In Memories of Lakes Lost, Hjelm encourages us to contemplate our place in the world and ask ourselves what world we want to live in.

Images and editing: Mats Hjelm
Music: Derek Gripper

 

Exhibition Views

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Photo credits: Jean-Baptiste Béranger