SIRI HERMANSEN
I WILL
19.11.2022--09.04.2023
Flagpole
Siri Hermansens flag project "I WILL" is an artistic manifesto. It takes a point of departure in Timothy Snyder's book On Tyranny, twenty lessons from the 20th Century, where he discusses in twenty points how to resist/live under tyranny. I WILL can be interpreted as a response to the undemocratic processes going on in the Western world today; A policy in which right-wing movements, undemocratic powers and fake news have manifested itself.
As an artistic strategy Hermansen has appropriated each sentence and written I will or I will not in front. The sentences thus become personal guidelines for how the artist as a person should act and react if the worst should happen.
Siri Hermansen is a Norwegian filmmaker, photographer and installation artist. She uses film, photography and installations, to investigate unforeseen affects in societies that are undergoing deep economic, environmental and political change. The projects offer unusual micro-perspectives on contemporary modes of adoption and strategies of survival in societies that can be considered as uncertain zones. Siri Hermansen completed her doctorate at the National Academy of Arts in Oslo in 2016. She holds an MFA from École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and a BFA from Parsons School of Design.
I will not obey in advance
I will beware of the one-party state
I will remember professional ethics
I will be wary of paramilitaries
I will be kind to our language
I will investigate
I will contribute to good causes
I will listen for dangerous words
I will be as courageous as
I will defend institutions
I will take responsibility for the face of the world
I will be reflective if I must be armed
I will stand out
I will believe in truth
I will make eye contact and small talk
I will learn from peers in other countries
I will be calm when the unthinkable arrives
I will establish a private life
I will practice corporeal politics