Belly of the Beast

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(2021)

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Analogue photographs and video  (16min)

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As part of group exhibition Sculptural Landscapes at Galleri Format, Malmö, Sweden, Jan-Feb 2021. Curated by Trine Stephensen.

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Other participating artists;

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Ditte Knus Tønnesen, Inka & Niclas, Mathias Kruse Jørgensen, Miriam H Nielsen

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Belly of the Beast explores the intricate relationship between proximity and distance in relation to the body. Drawing inspiration from Marcel Duchamp's "Étant Donnés", Bäcklund draws connotations to the peep hole as a performative space of voyeurism and taboo. The photos display glory holes photographed in various temporarily closed clubs in Berlin.

To capture the video footage, the artist filmed herself using a surgical endoscope camera designed to view the inside of the body. The camera journeys across the terrain of the body like an adventurer exploring unknown territories. Bright hues arise from the pressure exerted on the skin, erasing the gap between body and apparatus.  The close-up transforms into a hiding place, questioning the unfamiliarity of one's own body. Bäcklund collaborated with artist and writer Isobel Wohl to create textual elements that aim to provoke a collision between intimacy and separation, blurring the lines between private and public. The fictional dialogue borrows language from online communication and metaphors of the micro and macro.

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