Pernille Lystlund Matzen and Nanna Rebekka: Breaker of Horses
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Or Gallery 236 East Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6A 1T7
Pernille Lystlund Matzen and Nanna Rebekka, "Breaker of Horses," nd
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Reception Friday, June 15, 7:00 PM
Curated by Denise Ryner
An intersection in Copenhagen’s Sydhavn district is the location of the statue at the centre of this film work. An otherwise unremarkable urban space is dominated by a bronze sculpture of a young man who attempts to tame two unruly horses. The essay film Breaker of Horses delves into the colonial histories that are contained within the bronze sculpture’s cast. This leads us back to the genesis of the sculpture in Greek myth, to a Belgian-Africa Museum and deep into Europe’s colonial past. With formal nods to contemporary video artists such as Camille Henrot and Hito Steyerl, Breaker of Horses is a stream of information, images, digital animation and archive material. The visual abundance is emphasized by a soundtrack that alternately swells with synthesized sound loops and audio commentary about the statue's history, material and production which ties its presence in Europe to the brutal slavery and oppression in the former Belgian Congo.
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