ABOUT

Self, help, suck, cock, love, pain, true, fear, life, mind, soul, lost, hate, evil, good, wild, cunt, hope – all words we meet in the Danish artist Kasper Sonne’s work ”Four letter words” and all words found in our everyday language. The words are stereotypes that on one hand have clear meanings, and obvious common connotations within our culture. Yet, on the other hand they come across as empty vessels open to individual definition in the sense that the meaning is defined by context of reception as much as the source of expression.

One of the main questions posed in Sonne’s work is whether culture dictates the construction of meaning or whether it can be negotiated. Sonne engages in an open discussion of the established and the alternative, and his artistic practice revolves around classic dichotomies such as “good/evil”, “love/hate”, “truth/lie” etc. He works with established notions of terms and symbols, which in his work take on a new, open or altered meaning. As in the work described above, most words provoke certain associations and thus values of positive or negative character. The title of the work is a common phrase used to categorize words and expressions as bad language, yet several of the displayed words are initially of a positive character, seen apart from the (possible) juxtapositions within the work. Hence, a doubt of the reference and meaning communicated and received arises as the spectator starts combining the words in his/her own mind. This is also the case in the work “The beginning is the end and the end is the beginning”, a slide projection that continuously shifts between the words “fear, your, control, your…” Depending on at what point the spectator address the work and his/her references, the statement can be read as “control your fear” or “fear your control”. The uncertainty and possible “misunderstanding” that occurs is the premise of the work that opens up for the spectator to actively insert oneself in the experience and reading of the work.

The notions of truth and trust play a central role in Sonne’s work but he keeps deconstructing any apparent order or clear syntax they may suggest, as well as our understanding of them. Hence, the notion of “doubt” seems to be the only indisputable statement in most of his exhibitions, as the works demand that the spectator reads meaning in to the works rather than decode a coherent truth. In the process, the spectator becomes aware of the means: his/her cultural background and upbringing; the way we were educated and the physical and psychological environment we live in. Our individual and collective references being questioned seem to be the imperative of the work of Kasper Sonne. Much of his work revolves around ideas of oppositionality and of the possibilities for articulating this within the context of art. With a view to the construction of meaning in our culture and society, Kasper Sonne explores how it is negotiated and how ways are found to work with different degrees of belonging and non-belonging. Rather than building a series of images, he circles his themes with various motifs, techniques and formats, and address this subject matter through diverse media such as photography, wall painting, neon, paper, textile, sculptures and installation work.