Corpus Exhibition by Alexander Wessely to Be Launched in an Old Palace Under Renovation in Central Stockholm
A new generation of postdigital artists and creatives are becoming prominent in the cultural world. The influential curator Hans Ulrich Obrist created the initiative concept “89Plus” which focuses on the generation born in 1989 or thereafter, and therefore have never known a world without the internet or the digital tools. They move freely between disciplines and techniques and often present very tactile and physical works.
Stockholm based photographer, director and artist Alexander Wessely (b. 1989) fits into this category. His career has quickly established him in the international music and fashion industry, portraying names like Rihanna and Kanye West or shooting for Vogue Italia. His digitally enhanced, raw black and white aesthetic fits in the contemporary world. His first show took place at a secret location and sold out within the first hour. Now the artist is announcing his 2nd exhibition entitled CORPUS. The show will take place in an old palace under renovation in central Stockholm.
ALEXANDER WESSELY 一 CORPUS
Högbergsgatan 44, 11826 Stockholm
February 3-4
(12-7 pm)
The entire exhibition is a study of sculpture through photography. Photographs of animal and human body shapes are used as a raw material, sculptured in digital post-production. The photographic raw material is molded until shaped similarly to an ancient sculpture – creating an illusion of the work being solely the photograph of an actual sculpture.
Every figurative form is scaled 1:1; the most apparent is Hippos, which weighs a solid 650kg and measures 2,8m x 2m. Every piece is unique and will be set in a solid marble and steel installation. This physical extension of the artwork is putting further emphasize on the work as a hybrid between photography and sculpture. In the CORPUS exhibition, something more personal is taking shape. References from Wessely's Greek roots is strong within the artworks and one can see how the artist's interest for technology is being let out.
The intersect of classical Greek sculpture and digital technology – the ultra-old meets the ultra-new. Digital technology makes the world a global village, yet questions of national identity are more prevalent in the actual public discourse than ever before. In this exhibition, Alexander Wessely breaks with the past while at the same time letting the visitor come closer to something more holistic, where past, present and future voices are heard simultaneously.
Images courtesy of Alexander Wessely
