Dirty pictures are a true fascination. Actually any pictures are fascinating, for a while, at least. But erotic images fascinate because in their graphic directness they strike a primordial chord that seems held forever on sustain. Like pictures of car accidents, they are effective communication. They hook. With the advent of snapshot cameras, scanners, and an internet connection, writhing images of naked men and women do get seen. And by a lot of people. No surprises, you would think.

Now, in our new century, Norwegian artist Stig Eklund's new exhibit peels off images he has found and modifies them to the extent that, well, very little has changed; the images are just darker and more poetic. They are pushed and tinkered toward art, but not at all dragging their feet. One is still looking at hard core images, but perhaps this time in their proper context: with the lights turned out.

And yes, in their new "art" form, they've been thrown back into the very public display that this century seems to crave for such acts. Maybe there is little difference between an artist showing images of people having sex and the actual thing. We seem to be living in an age of exhibitionism, driven by a compulsion to be "bad" and to display all that makes us peculiarly so to an unsuspecting, but insatiable, public.

- M. Rose and C. Marzetti

 

Using found footage material, Eklund isolates these frames from their original story line and leads the images to a new level of significance. By manipulating hidden evocative qualities and an associative potential, the artist creates a new narrative altogether. In so doing, he multiplies a significant moment into one that invokes a personal interpretation of each viewer.

 

The sound for this video has been conceived by the composer Nobu Matsui and further elicits its dreamlike atmosphere.