Sidsel Meineche Hansen: SECOND SEX WAR / Toril Johannessen: Unlearning Optical Illusions

Sidsel Meineche Hansen: SECOND SEX WAR
TKM Bispegata

SECOND SEX WAR at Trondheim kunstmuseum is Sidsel Meineche Hansen’s first solo show in Norway. The exhibition explores a cyberfeminist and queer position against the patriarchy and white supremacy underlying the (re)production of the gender binary in virtual reality.

In SECOND SEX WAR the artist presents, alongside other works, three new commissions: a series of laser-cut drawings; a new animation and VR production to be viewed on the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift and a large wall relief collectively produced by the artist together with her peers.

Central to Meineche Hansen’s most recent work is the female avatar "EVA v3.0," a royalty-free product sold online by TurboSquid, a company that supplies stock 3D models for computer games and adult entertainment. The artist uses EVA v3.0 both as a main character in her animations and as an object in her research into the commodity status of 3D bodies in X-rated digital image production. In order to examine virtual reality as an extension of capitalism, Meineche Hansen insists on a socio-economic reading of virtual sex work as well as skilled and casual labour in the production of her own work. 

SECOND SEX WAR is commissioned by Gasworks, London in partnership with Trondheim kunstmuseum.

Curator: Stefano Collicelli Cagol

Toril Johannessen: Unlearning Optical Illusions
TKM Gråmølna

Toril Johannessen's exhibition at Trondheim kunstmuseum presents the project Unlearning Optical Illusions in its most complete form until now. She juxtaposes two different visual cultures and their history: research on geometric optical illusions, and a variety of wax batik known both as African fabrics and Dutch wax print. Through narratives of textile history and the use of optical illusions in perceptual psychology, Toril Johannessen calls attention to how we use our eyes—what we actually see—and links it to culture and cultural identity.

The main visual element of the on-going project is a series of textiles designed by Johannessen herself. Until now this body of works has taken form as a book published by Hordaland Art Centre, a room installation with photographs, as textile installations and most recently, results from a collaboration with design collective HAiK. By studying the patterns of Johannessen’s textiles, you discover known optical illusions named after the scientists who made them, such as Hering and Zöllner. It has been observed that optical illusions are perceived differently based on where you come from, architecturally as well as culturally, and illusions have consequently been used in perceptual psychology to conduct research on cultural differences in perception.

By combining perceptual psychology and textile history Toril Johannessen allows us to reflect upon how cultural identity is created.

Curator: Randi Thommessen

*Top: View of Sidsel Meineche Hansen, SECOND SEX WAR, Trondheim kunstmuseum, 2016. Photo: TKM/ Anita Lande. Bottom: Toril Johannessen, Unlearning Optical Illusions (III), Unlearning the Poggendorf Illusion Pattern. Printed cotton, 119.8 cm x 11,000 cm.