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west coast exhibitions

Omer Fast's films are often based on a historical event or a current point of reference and define a new relationship between reality and fiction. The artist is interested in the way narratives are constructed, particularly the changes stories undergo when told by different voices and from different perspectives. Recurring themes in Fast's films are families struggling with tragic events and psychological coping strategies with absurd tendencies. In works such as The Invisible Hand and Karla, the artist experiments with VR and digital technologies. His films are often presented in specially designed spatial installations: theatrical or cinematic productions that turn the audience itself into protagonists.

Omer Fasts film er ofte baseret på en historisk begivenhed eller et aktuelt referencepunkt og definerer et nyt forhold mellem virkelighed og fiktion. Kunstneren er interesseret i, hvordan fortællinger konstrueres, især de forandringer, historier gennemgår, når de fortælles af forskellige stemmer og fra forskellige perspektiver. Tilbagevendende temaer i Fasts film er familier, der kæmper med tragiske begivenheder, og psykologiske copingstrategier med absurde tendenser. I værker som The Invisible Hand og Karlaeksperimenterer kunstneren med VR og digitale teknologier. Hans film præsenteres ofte i specialdesignede rumlige installationer: teatralske eller filmiske produktioner, der gør publikum selv til hovedpersoner.

Our planned exhibition with artist Omer Fast (born in Jerusalem in 1972) shows human encounters with the inexplicable in two films.  

In his film De Oylem iz a Goylem, a lonely skier in the Salzburg mountains makes an ominous acquaintance. The second film, The Invisible Hand, shows a family's confrontation with a ghost in the Pearl River Delta, China. 

Both films are based on the same material from a medieval Jewish fairy tale. With De Oylem iz a Goylem, Omer Fast has, in a sense, created a European translation of The Invisible Hand, and we are very pleased to be able to show these two films by the internationally renowned artist for the first time in Denmark.

Vores planlagte udstilling med kunstneren Omer Fast (født i Jerusalem i 1972, bor og arbejder i Berlin) viser menneskelige møder med det uforklarlige i to film.  

I filmen De Oylem iz a Goylem møder en ensom skiløber i bjergene ved Salzburg en uhyggelig bekendtskab. Den anden film, The Invisible Hand, viser en families konfrontation med et spøgelse i Pearl River Delta i Kina. 

Begge film er baseret på det samme materiale fra et middelalderligt jødisk eventyr. Med De Oylem iz a Goylem har Omer Fast på en måde skabt en europæisk oversættelse af The Invisible Hand, og vi er meget glade for at kunne vise disse to film af den internationalt anerkendte kunstner for første gang i Danmark.

De Oylem iz a Goylem takes place on a chairlift, high above a ski slope in a snow-covered ski resort in the Austrian Alps. A lone skier accidentally drops her glove. As she curses her misfortune, a fellow passenger suddenly appears beside her, dressed in a long black robe, with a beard, sidelocks and the hat of an Orthodox Jew. Like a mountain spirit who has been accidentally summoned, he too has his own agenda and his own story to tell. The skier realises with growing dismay that he is rather rude, talks constantly and can stop the lift as he pleases. To dispel this spirit and free herself from his grip, the skier must resort to long-suppressed memories and dissolve the boundaries that separate the real world from the world of fairy tales.

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Although De Oylem iz a Goylem envelops big themes in cinematic imagery, Fast does not fall into pathos. Small moments of self-irony break through the narrative and expose its artificiality: through plastic prostheses, which Fast uses to address the problems of stereotypical representation.

De Oylem iz a Goylem foregår på en stolelift højt over en skiløjpe i et snedækket skisportssted i de østrigske Alper. En ensom skiløber taber ved et uheld sin handske. Mens hun forbander sin uheldige skæbne, dukker en medpassager pludselig op ved siden af hende, klædt i en lang sort kappe, med skæg, lokker og en ortodoks jødisk hat. Som en bjergånd, der ved et uheld er blevet tilkaldt, har også han sin egen dagsorden og sin egen historie at fortælle. Skiløberen indser med voksende forfærdelse, at han er temmelig uhøflig, taler konstant og kan stoppe liften, som det passer ham. For at fordrive denne ånd og befri sig fra hans greb må skiløberen ty til længe undertrykte minder og opløse grænserne mellem den virkelige verden og eventyrverdenen.

 

Selvom De Oylem iz a Goylem omslutter store temaer i filmiske billeder, falder Fast ikke i patos. Små øjeblikke af selvironi bryder igennem fortællingen og afslører dens kunstighed: gennem plastiske proteser, som Fast bruger til at adressere problemerne med stereotypisk repræsentation.

The Invisible Hand tells the spooky story of a family from the point of view of a girl. It starts with the dad finding a ghostly finger on the forest floor when he was a kid, which seems to be trying to grab a ring lying next to it. Fearing that the ghost would haunt him if he took the ring, the boy puts it on the finger and runs away. From then on, the family regularly finds banknotes on their doorstep, without knowing who the mysterious benefactor is, and becomes rich. But as is so often the case in life, gifts are not free...

 

The Invisible Hand was filmed in Guangzhou, China, in 2018. It was commissioned by the Guangdong Times Museum and premiered there, but was banned after a few days. The official reason given by the local authorities was that ghosts no longer existed since the founding of the People's Republic of China and that such a film could therefore not be shown.

The Invisible Hand fortæller den uhyggelige historie om en familie set fra en piges synspunkt. Den begynder med, at faren som barn finder en spøgelsesagtig finger på skovbunden, der ser ud til at forsøge at gribe fat i en ring, der ligger ved siden af. Af frygt for, at spøgelset vil hjemsøge ham, hvis han tager ringen, sætter drengen den på fingeren og løber væk. Fra da af finder familien regelmæssigt pengesedler på deres dørtrin uden at vide, hvem den mystiske velgører er, og bliver rige. Men som det så ofte er tilfældet i livet, er gaver ikke gratis...

 

The Invisible Hand blev filmet i Guangzhou, Kina, i 2018. Den blev bestilt af Guangdong Times Museum og havde premiere der, men blev forbudt efter få dage. Den officielle begrundelse fra de lokale myndigheder var, at spøgelser ikke længere eksisterede siden grundlæggelsen af Folkerepublikken Kina, og at en sådan film derfor ikke kunne vises.

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Omer Fast holds a BA in English from Tufts University, a BFA in Visual Arts from the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts, and an MFA from Hunter College, City University of New York. Since graduating in 2000, Fast has had solo exhibitions at the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich (2021), the Times Art Museum in Guangzhou (2018), the Martin Gropius Bau in Berlin (2016), the Jeu de Paume in Paris (2015), and the Whitney Museum in New York (2010). Group exhibitions include dOCUMENTA13 and the Venice Biennale 2011.

 

Fast received the Bucksbaum Prize for his work The Casting at the 2008 Whitney Biennial and the National Gallery Prize for Young Art in Berlin in 2009 for his work Nostalgia. His works are included in various international collections, including the Tate Modern in London, the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Omer Fast har en BA i engelsk fra Tufts University, en BFA i billedkunst fra Boston Museum School of Fine Arts og en MFA fra Hunter College, City University of New York. Siden sin eksamen i 2000 har Fast haft soloudstillinger på Pinakothek der Moderne, München (2021), Times Art Museum i Guangzhou (2018), Martin Gropius Bau i Berlin (2016), Jeu de Paume i Paris (2015) og Whitney Museum i New York (2010). Gruppesudstillinger omfatter dOCUMENTA13 og Venedig Biennalen 2011. 

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Fast modtog Bucksbaum-prisen for sit værk The Casting på Whitney Biennialen i 2008 og National Gallery Prize for Young Art i Berlin i 2009 for sit værk Nostalgia. Hans værker indgår i forskellige internationale samlinger, herunder Tate Modern i London, Guggenheim Museum i New York og Centre Pompidou i Paris.

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