Gallery 01:17

THE FILMMAKER ÅKE KARLUNGThe artist and filmmaker Åke Karlung was constantly seeking new forms of expression. As one of the pioneers of Swedish experimental film and text-sound composition, he created ground-breaking works, often using minimal resources and simple materials. The result was films with a distinctive visual style, in which animated sequences were interwoven with photographic images. Karlung processed several of the films directly in the camera by rewinding the film a certain number of frames to enable multiple exposures of the same sequence.During the 1960s, Karlung was active in the circles associated with Fylkingen and Elektronmusikstudion, two important centres for the exploration of the intersection between art and technology. This exhibition showcases four of his films: Break-Rest (1959), Dress Rehearsal for Suicide (1964), Homo Ludens I (1964–65) and Aliena Kadabra (1969). Adopting an often critical stance towards his contemporaries, Karlung uses the films to comment on everything from the imminent nuclear threat of the Cold War and the rise of consumer culture to Western norms and the structures of the art world.