Installation with box, man, computer and light

A shop window exhibition
Kulturens Vinduer, Copenhagen, Culture Capital of Europe 1996

Description:
A ”mind box”, human size, with a flickering light that showed a process. A thin steel chair. Next to the box was a countdown.

With irregular intervals, 4-8 minutes, a strong light, 4000W, ”exploded” like a force.

The countdown next to the box was also irregular and not connected to the flash, which confused people, but … man is unpredictable …

A shop window exhibition all over Copenhagen
In ”my” shop window I had placed a box with a flickering light, which would irregularly explode in a powerful explosion of light. Everyday a naked man entered the box and ’thought’ for 20 minutes. A performance, but also a way to give the box a human form.

”The naked man in the box” became the talk of the town in this exhibition.
I wanted the man’s sittings to be irregular, to highlight the unpredictability of man, but the shop wanted something else and every day a big notice showed when he would come …

Text by Abby Weisgard
People have the urge to break through boarders. Gunilla Leander is fascinated by the power within us that makes us persevere – makes us go forward in life. Her work is conceptual; her installation is an empty room — a symbol for the starting point for the process of making art.

In this empty room, a sudden and intense light flashed at random intervals. Sometimes a naked man came into the room, and no one ever knew when he was going to show up! He walked in as if shot in super-slow-motion, and sat so still that it was difficult to see if he was even alive. Then he slowly rose — and disappeared.

Basic Stamp: Petter Feltenstedt
Curator: Abby Weisgard

©Gunilla Leander