©Lene Marie Fossen - Untitled Chios 2017 1012519 Courtesy WILLAS contemporary. Inquire
HUMAN BY LENE MARIE FOSSEN
30.9.23 – 1.11.2023
Vernissage: Friday, September 30th 2023
Sankta Maria Domkyrka - Visby - Gotland
The exhibition Lene Marie Fossen – HUMAN presents for the first time the urgent self-portraits of Norwegian photographer Lene Marie Fossen (1986-2019) in Sweden.
Even though it is highly topical, the subject of anorexia is taboo. For the first time outside Scandinavia, the exhibition Lene Marie Fossen – Human will present the Norwegian photographer Lene Marie Fossen’s (1986–2019) powerful self-portraits. Fossen rejected the linear course of time that forced her into puberty and stopped eating at the age of ten. She struggled with anorexia for the rest of her life. Self-taught, she discovered photography as a medium with which she sought to freeze time. She created her deeply moving series of self-portraits in an empty hospital on the Greek island of Chios. Fossen decided to be open about her disorder and showed her works publicly. And she demanded to be seen as a photographer: “I’m primarily an artist, and then I’m sick. My work is not about eating disorders. It’s about human suffering.” On Chios in 2015, she also took photographs of stranded refugee children and elderly people. Her focus was always on the question of what it means to be human. Curated by Ellen K. Willas, WILLAS contemporary, Oslo/Stockholm.
Accompanied by the prize-winning documentary Self Portrait, directed by Margreth Olin, Katja Høgset, and Espen Wallin (2019, Speranza Film).
HUMAN BY LENE MARIE FOSSEN
1.9.22 – 26.2.23
Vernissage: Wednesday, 31 August 22, 6.30 p.m.
Museum im Lagerhaus - St Gallen - Switzerland
«I am not what they see, but what I see.»
The exhibition Lene Marie Fossen – Human presents for the first time the urgent self-portraits of Norwegian photographer Lene Marie Fossen (1986-2019) outside her country.
Even though it is highly topical, the subject of anorexia is taboo. For the first time outside Scandinavia, the exhibition Lene Marie Fossen – Human will present the Norwegian photographer Lene Marie Fossen’s (1986–2019) powerful self-portraits. Fossen rejected the linear course of time that forced her into puberty and stopped eating at the age of ten. She struggled with anorexia for the rest of her life. Self-taught, she discovered photography as a medium with which she sought to freeze time. She created her deeply moving series of self-portraits in an empty hospital on the Greek island of Chios. Fossen decided to be open about her disorder and showed her works publicly. And she demanded to be seen as a photographer: “I’m primarily an artist, and then I’m sick. My work is not about eating disorders. It’s about human suffering.” On Chios in 2015, she also took photographs of stranded refugee children and elderly people. Her focus was always on the question of what it means to be human.
Curated by Ellen K. Willas, WILLAS contemporary, Oslo/Stockholm.
Accompanied by the prize-winning documentary Self Portrait, directed by Margreth Olin, Katja Høgset, and Espen Wallin (2019, Speranza Film).
© Lene Marie Fossen, Untitled Chios 2017, 8090938, Courtesy WILLAS contemporary
Inquire
THE GATEKEEPER BY LENE MARIE FOSSEN
Norwegian Lene Marie Fossen wanted to stop time when she was 10.
She rejected the linear progression of time that forced her to go through puberty and stopped eating in order not to grow up. She chose to be open about her disease and found her means of expression in photography. Her self-portraits bear witness to an inner conflict; both cruel and beautiful.
Lene Marie Fossen was only thirty-three years old when she passed away on October 22, 2019. Lene Maries biggest wish was that her work was shared with as many as possible.
''The Gatekeeper'' pays tribute to Fossen as an artist and at the same time reveals the difficult path she chose, to give voice to the seriousness of this fatal condition. Today, anorexia is the most deadly psychiatric disease.
"The Gatekeeper" exhibition is curated by Ilgin Deniz Akselogu and produced by WILLAS contemporary. Music is by Susanne Sundfør.
The exhibition premiered on January 17th 2020 at Shoot Gallery in Oslo. The exhibition presents 16 self-portraits by Lene Marie Fossen. A significant part of the profit will benefit an organisation working to prevent eating disorders. Gatekeeper has been shown at Stiklestad Nasjonale Senter in Norway. Some of the works will be on view at Raufoss Gård in Norway from October 2020.
The exhibition is supported by:
Bergesen Stiftelsen
C. Ludens Ringnes Stiftelse
Bildende Kunstneres Hjelpefond [BKH]
"The Gatekeeper" book, published by Kehrer Verlag is designed by Joao Linneu and contains essays by Ilgin Deniz Akselogu, Margreth Olin, Kelsey Osgood and Arno Rafael Minkkinen.
