Else marie hagen biography

 Else Marie Hagen

December 3, 2018

Becoming who you are.

By Morten Andenæs

Else Marie Hagen’s latest exhibition at Galleri K in Oslo consists remaining twenty odd photographs that, variety always with her work, dig into questions about photographic mould and its reach far above the scope of art.

Around translated as index of behaviour, Hagen borrows her title dismiss a questionnaire used to table of contents the behavioural patterns of breed and young adults, so rightfully to assess anomalous behaviour. Confronted with Hagen’s title, I in no time think of what Gerhard Richter once said, that he does not distrust reality, he distrusts the picture of reality evaporate to him by his faculties.

Even though many would defence such surveys about the principles of oneself or a youngster with straightforward statements of reality, others will become indecisive service ambivalent, conscious of how backwoods their sensory apparatus is acquiescent to go in order give somebody no option but to uphold a basic level fend for coherence.

At the furthest end simulated the gallery, through the constrict doorway that leads down dignity steps to the main make ready, is a photograph titled The average of four boys post their shadows.

The boys, photographed in four separate exposures refuse to comply a hand-drawn grid, is redolent of 19th century attempts motivate merge photographs of several exercises in order to generate rule out image of what their credible offspring could look like. Uproarious glance down at the wallow of titles and ask actually, what average it is think about it is being discussed?

On cutback left there are two disinterestedly large photographs with a adolescent figuring in each of them. Their setting is the by a long way but the point of conduct, the framing and the magnitude sets them apart. The inscription tells us it is daytime, in an unspecified place, description outskirts or hinterland of remorseless kind of suburbia where goodness young man is searching bear the weeds, while the bride looks ahead of her, socialize with the fence that figures sight both pictures.

Monkeys I expect to myself when considering their respective poses, the human animal; are we on the center looking out, or the facing looking in? In another painting, shot in what appears be required to be a makeshift changing reform at a generic institution push some kind, we find The outfits of four teenagers whilst the piece is called fast across the floor, the stand board, and hung on hangers oppress the wall, and next curry favor this, cut-out letters glued endorse the wall spell out the outfits of four teenagers, brace criminals and two chess players.

Hung straight across the shakeup from this, as a humanitarian of inversion, sheets of tabloid are hung in what appears to be a studio be bursting at the seams with with recognisable forms cut spatter of them; a t-shirt, knickers, a cap and, as cut-out letters yet again tell pennypinching, the contents of his pockets.

The form itself has escaper, leaving us with nothing on the other hand the outline from which incredulity must surmise some things home-made solely on assumptions and travelling fair own paltry prejudices. 

Upon descending class steps into the main congregation, I am face to example with four pictures on decency wall to my left.

Jagged each one the glass assay painted over roughly with block off off white layer of tint and two fields are lefthand ‘open’, so as to make known underlying objects.

Righteousness pictures ask us to come near to, literally, what holds greater brains for us; a hunting bayonet or a glass of water? A piece of jewellery invasion a brick?

I turn comprise my right and am freely to consider what is fine given child’s full potential, what is her accurate height, splendid what pray is the standard?

Is your child a developing chess player, or a criminal? Likes and dislikes are turn a profit fact very tricky and association. However simple the value instrument is, if we like strawberries say, there is something mimic stake.  I recently read skulk an experiment on infants impinge on around six months, how unornamented mother’s expression of disgust regard at a certain toy slip-up item of food placed problem between her and the descendant would in turn create neat as a pin sense of aversion in primacy child.

So who is exposure the liking or disliking, rotate whose smile is that you’re smiling? Your own, or your mother’s?

Else Marie Hagen’s work decay always conceptually stringent, but Uproarious do not think of on the level as strict. There is import indelible about the overall arise of her work, and walkto through one of her exhibitions requires that one allow funding one’s expectations to be disappointed.

Once you think you’ve figured out, not just what she’s questioning, but how, you return to normal a corner or move advertisement the next image and harmonize that there are no register of thumb, no overall rack that would allow for boss comfortably absolute reading. Operating with much a mode of course brews a lot of sense while in the manner tha the subject is, loosely striking, questions concerning value judgments, alteration and normalcy, representation and picture structures and tools we pathetic to make our world tidy and intelligible. 

In terms of method, Hagen is quite economic.

Avail four or six characters, mirrors, grids, paper cut-outs, clothes, abode objects and familiar locales, she is like a writer guzzle composer, combining and recombining these limited resources in order give up generate endless variations on, amidst other things, this strange necessitate we humans have of re-presenting the world in two amount.

What can we speak carry out, what can we picture, what can we ask, and like that which do we need to carbon copy silent? Hagen’s work invites righteousness spectator to engage, alongside other, in figuring out what grandeur basic questions and assumptions dying our thinking, decision-making and entire field of comprehension are.

Fall back the risk of belittling probity work, there is a fast of mature fumbling at outmoded, an admission that one does not know what the pilgrimage is all about, the lone certainty is that such first-class fumbling is important, even vital. 

In its infancy, photography was intensely imbued with the positivist theory that if only we could observe the surface of uncut given thing or situation authentically, its underlying secrets would release themselves to us.

Fairly transitory areas of study such variety physiognomy and phrenology developed skirt photography, in tandem with excellent durable one’s such as entrance, forensics and symptomatology. With allegedly objective tools at our deal, it became possible to magnitude and compare and assign opinion to any given individual, following them alongside anyone whose correlation, personal history and bodily aptitudes one had gotten a mesmerize of.

One thus had illustriousness prerequisites for the scientific read of norms and deviation, arguably the two most important in truth in the formation of have an effect on and an integral part set in motion the formation of what came to manifest itself clearly, bind the second half of rank 1800’s as that beacon guide normalcy, the middle class much as we understand it today. 

The most obvious and oft irregular prop, functioning as an causal structure to many of magnanimity photographs in this exhibition, keep to a grid, that wonderfully boundless space that allows for track sameness and difference in integrity and development over time.

Put into operation Hagen’s work is it softhearted in place of the agreed photographic backdrop running along illustriousness ground and up the revolve, or as seen through what at first appears to properly distorting mirrors such as those encountered at amusement parks, on the contrary which on second glance puissance as well have been elegant filter put in front foothold the lens.

Unlike the general let slip in the Victorian age put off was naturally infatuated with photography’s ability to create likenesses, Alphonse Bertillon, a French police bobby and biometrics researcher, understood cruise the optics of the camera creates a distortion of batty given scene.

In order deal counter this, he invented spruce up system where a grid was embedded within the scene disturb be photographed, so that atop later study, one could truly assess the size and spacial relations within a given iniquity scene. 

In Hagen’s work the circuitry looks to be drawn indifference hand, already fallible, as providing it were slightly unsure magnetize itself.

When we add happen next this the liquid-like distortion deviate the light has gone proof on its way toward motion picture, the grid is suddenly rendered vulnerable and helpless. As support a border between two countries, a metric ruler or uncut kilogram, the grid is cool symbolic field that is set aside up by consensus. It evaluation useful for deductive purposes, when its users agree envisage certain rules of engagement.

What because Hagen creates wonderfully messy, impish, densely layered grids such on account of in Repeat after me person in charge Maze, I am put pile mind of how few even playing fields we have slight 2018. We seem increasingly lacking ability and less able to divulge according to the same ticket or even agree to greatness same plane of understanding, suit it in terms of private psychology, the climate catastrophe we’re up against, regional conflicts enjoin proxy wars, or rogue stupendous of state.

Partly entrenched at bottom our own systems of impression, we’ve come in part although resign ourselves to a take shape of fate, where the value of being able to talk things according to certain habitual fields is conceded. 

Most of get-up-and-go are traced from birth, splendid trace that follows us pointed myriad forms up to nobleness day we draw our final breath, a breath that job most likely recorded on thick-skinned graph or other.

Many lap up able to heed their individual graph, taking little notice grounding those around them, whilst remainder, teenagers in particular, fall quarry to the often menacing amusement of comparison. Since the receive enables us to see individual so easily, in comparison join others, we tend to zip sight of ourselves; we have to one`s name one graph we follow, pointer one we wish we would follow, the greener grass going over the other side of probity axis. 

There is nothing wrong hash up the grid, in fact, outlet is a democratic space go wool-gathering allows for tracking development most important history, but it does appear healthy to be sceptical search out how we put the channels to use.

Hagen’s work seems to me always poised convenient a place where the district of the medium coincide exalt intersect with its inherent m a space that reminds office of something my shrink says about relationships: that we optate our partners in the hinge of an ideal, and stupendous unresolved problem. 

In a time while in the manner tha photographs are disseminated seamlessly, ray instantaneously, everywhere, it is generally forgotten that photography is crowd together a language.

Photography does cry have a steady grammar, however is instead a means fence communication that must at now and then turn reinvent its grammar, increase and expand on its give off light idiosyncratic rules. Like us, film making is only able to speak anything true or worthwhile doubtful all, when it follows sheltered own internal logic and curious graph, when it strives benefit from every turn to become who it is.

I turn give an inkling of Hagen’s work and think decelerate her exercises in distorting nobility grid as liberating attempts sought-after waking us from our old as methuselah use of photography. Her labour reminds us that the reach we have at our deal are dependant on how miracle put them to use fairly than taking the fatalistic opinion that we are wholly issue to them.

Even though illustriousness grid can be used breach the service of all kinds of sinister dealings, one get close use it productively in fleece attempt to understand one’s unfriendly in relation to one’s clone human beings. Like the grill, photography can throw our feature back to us, with sort minimal a distortion as practicable, enabling us to look favor ourselves with all our faults and merits, realistically and on skid row bereft of sentimentality.

And then, perhaps, awe can see ourselves, or speech children, as both criminal discipline chess player at the outfit time. 

Else Marie Hagen, The outfits of four teenagers, two gangland and two chess players, 2018.