OSLO.- Over the course of the past eight years, Will Benedict and Steffen Jørgensen have collaborated on an ongoing video series called The Restaurant, showcasing episodes in various exhibition contexts. The series is set in the ruins of a Parisian skyscraper, surrounded by dense jungle, where we are introduced to a variety of human and non-human characters who cook, serve, search for meaning, and fail in their attempts at being productive members of society.
In Season 2, presented here at Den Frie, we follow a police detective and owner of Café Wha? as she aggressively questions customers on their eating habits, their relationship with “hanger”, and the effect food has on their lives in general. In the shadow of The Restaurant, a humanoid blue chicken and a man with ears for eyes host a science podcast for a small group of barn animals. With the aid of experts in the fields of bio-engineering, physics and zoology the program explores the world of the microbiome, the origins of fat, and what it would be like to live on an earth made entirely of blueberries. Over the course of each episode we meet a melancholy moon, a T-Rex stuck in an outhouse, a disenfranchised scarecrow and a half man, half snail making the essential deliveries that hold this world together.
The elaborate installation of Season 2 places the viewer in the middle of this world, complete with a kitchen, toilet and bed along with all the other vital corporeal necessities a conscious organism could need.
Steffen Jørgensen (*1983, Denmark) is a graduate from the Funen Art Academy in Odense and the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna. In Denmark, he is particularly known for his projects with the artists’ collective Years and for collaborations with fellow artists Robert Kjær Clausen and Allan Nicolaisen. Internationally, he has worked with American artist Will Benedict for many years. Their collaborative works have been shown at venues such as the Art Sonje Center, Seoul, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva (in conjunction with the Biennial of the Moving Image ‘21), and UCCA, Beijing. His latest solo show, Civilizsia, was presented at Tranen, Gentofte. He lives and works on the Danish island of Møn and is represented by the Bianca D’Alessandro Gallery.
Will Benedict (*1978, Los Angeles) incorporates elements of advertising, choreography, music, graphic design and collage in a range of media such as paintings, photos, posters, performances and video. In his works, he seeks to address the various conditions and potential conflicts that underpin production and collaboration. He has recently exhibited at the Bourse du Commerce – Pinault Collection, Paris, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, Basement Roma, Rome, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Art Sonje Center, Seoul, dépendance, Brussels, Galerie Balice Hertling, Paris, Overduin & Co., Los Angeles, Gio Marconi, Milan; Fondazione Giuliani, Rome, Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen; and Halle für Kunst, Lüneburg. He lives and works in Paris.
