Lørdag d. 5. maj åbner natklubben Cocked på Bakken i Kødbyen dørene for en utraditionel fernisering af den amerikanske fotograf Ruvan Wijesooriyas udstilling "Dearest of Dearest".
Ikke bare flyder reception og efterfest sammen – det hele starter kl. 21 og slutter først, når solen er stået op – Ruvan giver også sin kunst væk! Billederne til receptionen kan gæsterne nemlig frit tage med hjem og give nyt liv, så længe de efterlader en note, hvorved Ruvan kan komme i kontakt med dem igen.
Euroman.dk fangede manden, der står bag pladecovers til bl.a. LCD Soundsystem, portrætter af Iggy pop, Pharrell og Lykke Li samt kampagner for Vogue, Paul Smith og Chanel, inden han landede i København.
EM: If you woke up one day in a little village where nobody had ever heard of the famous photographer Ruvan Wijesooriya, what would you tell them?
RW: I'd be like, 'C'mon guys, seriously?? YOU DON'T KNOW WHO I AM??' Haha, no I'm kidding. I have met famous people, I have some friends who have become famous. I'm nowhere near famous. I might ask the village people if I can take their picture - a family portrait or perhaps portraits of each making a funny face, couples kissing and stuff like that. I'm much more interested in taking pictures than I am in being a photographer, if that makes sense.
EM: Why did you choose to visit Denmark? And why do an opening exhibition in a night club?
RW: I've always wanted to check out Copenhagen at night. Anton Klint who does "Cocked" at Bakken with Nicolas Michaelsen is a good friend and has previously helped me put on shows in Gothenburg. I had never partied in Copenhagen and he knew I was doing other shows in Scandinavia, so when he offered, I had to say yes. I've been to Copenhagen before with an ex-girlfriend whose family lived in Malmo. It was cool to walk around, street-drink and just observe. Its quite different being on my own and ready to stay up late, if you know what I mean.
For me there is a close relationship between art, experience, nightlife and music - my first book, All Night New York, was about going out and living in the night. When showing work in a nightclub there is no pressure to sell, I get to see my friends and I get to show my work to an open and perhaps unexpecting and unassuming audience - its somewhat of a celebration of all these pictures I have and it feels good to share them with people. The relationship the audience can make with my work in this setting is different and lovely, I think. Nightlife venues have also been a great place to try out new ideas, see people's reactions and determine how I feel about my own work, make contrasts and relationships between the pictures. I can have a little more fun with what I do. For example, the show that I did at Bergdorf Goodman in NYC - well, its a different audience and that show isn't so much about fun as much as it is about, say, presentation and using a few pictures to portray an idea and even build some kind of narrative and character. Anything goes in a nightclub, you know? At the same time its a bit awkward knowing that the show will be for one night, and once everything is installed, there's something slightly heartbreaking about watching everything destroyed. I've come to embrace this process and even create new work based on the destruction of my work, which has been an incredible experience and can only be done in a nightlife setting such as a club. The content of this exhibition in Copenhagen will be very different from the shows I've done in Stockholm and Oslo last month, quite different than the one I'm part of in London on May 17, so I'm actually quite thrilled to be putting it up.
Annonse
EM: What's the story behind the title of the exhibition, "Dearest of Dearest"?
RW: All of the pictures in that show are of people I love very much. And "est" is kind of "to the max" which I also like. In this show the pictures are for the audience to take and use to define themselves and others. I've done this show twice now and can't wait to do it again. We know that you're giving away your art on Saturday night. Why? RW: Because when it is for sale, it is expensive. But also, I love pictures and while I make them for myself, I also make them for others. People sometimes create their own stories about the pictures, and that's always interesting. Beyond that, I have a plan and will work on a show that has to do with me re-appropriating the work I have given away over the years.
EM: James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem says there is an enormous amount of intimacy, promise, and intrusion in your pictures. Where does this come from?
RW: Genuine curiosity, a positive viewpoint on life, respect for my subjects and knowing how to dance on a line that most are not willing to cross and most often shouldn't be crossed. Or somehow getting the permission to cross that line through trust.
EM: You've done much work for major artists and corporate clients. What did you learn from this?
RW: I've learned that creative freedom is crucial in making good work that stands out. In shooting portraits I feel like I get to learn so much from the most brilliant people. As well, I like to help people communicate both themselves and their ideas through my photography. Working for others and working for myself is something I've been lucky enough to separate almost completely, so my own work remains mine and what is for them has little to do with my own artistic expression as much as my ability to employ visual languages.
EM: And finally, what does the future hold?
RW: I've got some more exhibitions coming up. And a few books. I'm open to the future, so whatever it has in mind, I will certainly consider.
EM: Thank you very much for your time!
Læs mere på ruvan.com og besøg Bakken i Kødbyen lørdag aften til et brag af en fernisering.
Jeg kan love dig for, at jeg har meget på hjerte. Men det kommer jeg ikke til at blande ind i min karriere. Det er ikke professionelt interessant for mig at udtale mig om ting. At jeg selv mener en masse i det private … fair snak. Men den snak kan jeg tage med nogle venner.
