Nathalie Djurberg
"Turn into me"
19 April 2008 - 30 June 2008
Fondazione Prada, Milan

The accompanying book is written by Germano Celant, published by Progetto Prada Arte; available online fondazioneprada.org

fig.: Natahlie Djurberg (portrait) Courtesy of the Artist; photo: Hans Berg


Djurberg shows the dark side of humans' instincts


Nathalie Djurberg (born in Lysekil, Sweden, 1978; living in Berlin) represents with her video-installations human desires and possessive sexual thoughts. The installations are especially designed for the exhibition space of Fondazione Prada.

The videos are installed in pavilions that seem to be part of the human body. The aim was to turn the exhibition hall into the inside of the human body. The videos (short animated, grotesque stories made of plasticine figures in surreal sceneries accompanied by music of composer Hans Berg) represent universal symbols of anxiety, violence, desire,... Djurberg shows the dark side of humans' instincts.

The stories could be taken from fairy tales such as written by the Brothers Grimm. You will find here the monstrous big wolf in a kitchen with a little girl. The macabre title of the series is "We are not two, we are one".

In the series "Johnny" you will see three naked women in a forest. It looks like if they are celebrating their witches' dance. Behind a tree stands a young man observing them. Is this Johnny? On another picture two of the women catch the boy. You will find out that in some stories lies a subtle pleasure of cruelty. Check out the video stills at fondazioneprada.org.

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About: Nathalie Djurberg is one of the leading new generation Swedish artists, strongly active on the international scene. She has participated to the last edition of Performa in New York ( 2007); she has presented solo shows at Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna (2007) and at Färgfabriken in Stockholm (2006); her videos have been shown at Tate Britain in London (2007), P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in New York (2006) and at the 4th Biennial of Contemporary Art in Berlin (2006).

fig.: Nathalie Djurberg Untitled (Trees), 2008. Acrylic colors, audio and video equipment, metal, polyurea, polyurethane, water colors, wood shavings, variable dimensions
with inside: "Johnny", 2008. Clay animation, video, music by Hans Berg, 4:16 min.
Courtesy Fondazione Prada, Milan; photo: Attilio Maranzano