Okänd, kvinna 2009-349701
by Anna Odell
Artist
Anna Odell
(Sverige, född 1973)
Alternate Title
- Unknown Woman 2009-349701
Date2009
Medium5-channel video installation, color, sound; documents: journals, court records
Dimensions1 tim 27:23 min
ClassificationPerformance, Moving Images, Installations
Credit LinePurchase 2021 (Swedish Acquisitions 2021)
Countries
Object NumberMOM/2021/433
CollectionsRecent Acquisitions, Svenska förvärv 2021
The artwork is not on display
About the artworkThe camera follows the rambling, agitated woman from a distance, until she clings to the bridge railing, is stopped by passers by and taken away by the police. At the emergency psych ward the sound recording takes over – her psychosis is faked, to examine the power structures in a situation the woman has experienced previously in real life. This was the prelude to the artist and filmmaker Anna Odell’s widely-acknowledged graduation piece at the Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design. But the real work began before that, in a series of meticulous exploratory conversations with psychiatric staff, psychologists and a lawyer. An epilogue is added, with material from the ensuing trial, media coverage and legal pleas. Odell’s work probes sore points far beyond the realm of psychiatric care. What does artistic research entail? And what is allowed in the name of art?