KARL HOLMQVISTHURRY UP. CHASE IT DOWN.

We can see Karl Holmqvist as an heir of Mallarmé, especially that of "La Dernière Mode", a disconcerting magazine published in 1874. The Swedish author has built a body of work at the crossroads of several territories, such as literature, art and fashion, and it should be noted that he is one of the protagonists, as a model, in the latest advertising campaign for Brioni, an Italian haute couture brand. The work of Holmqvist never ceases to amaze by the use of language, producing effects that can either originate from conceptual art, concrete poetry, performance or even in popular culture, particularly from the music, be it pop, alternative rock or hip-hop. There is this attempt to grab the world, turning it into a succession of words and signs that reflect not only the urgency of establishing political difference – and here the body is the beginning and the end of that desire – but also the demonstration of a chance: to do and to say with so much limited means. The economy proposed here is libidinal: unconditional and intense.

On October 8, at Dona Gertrudes, Karl Holmqvist will proceed to read the texts from his book "What's my name?" (2009), a collection inspired by "The Waste Land" by TS Eliot, in which the artist uses a working method based on the quote, and there are also passages written by himself. The interpretations of the poems are unique moments, unforgettable – remember the performance held alongside Patti Smith at the Venice Biennale in 2011, under the sign of Rimbaud – that could transform the perception of viewers, who are invited to enter a kind of trance caused by the repetition of words. There are still moments where the humor, the silence or the awkwardness caused by the changing context of the verses of a song, produce cuts that mantra which is a live performance by this author.

The exhibition at Sismógrafo, results from the artist's confrontation with the architecture of the space. Here is the text that is the starting point of the show where you can find this ping pong words and concrete images, words and images improvised, written by hand on a wall or a chair:

ONE COULD THINK ABOUT REPETITION. REPEATING AS IN REHEARSING. LIKE TESTING SOMETHING OUT AND HAVING IT STICK IN MEMORY... OBSESSING ABOUT SOMETHING AND HAVING IT REPEAT IN ONE'S HEAD. OR ONE COULD USE A WORD SUCH AS MIMICKING. MAKING ANEW SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY BEEN MADE. IT COULD BE ABOUT AUTHENTICITY. OR LACK THEREOF. SHARED AUTHORSHIP. GHOST WRITING. HERO WORSHIP. DRAG. MEN IN WOMEN'S CLOTHING AT ONCE LOOK MORE LIKE WOMEN AND MORE LIKE MEN (BROAD SHOULDERS AND MUSCLY LEGS… ) BOTH MAKING FUN OF AND CELEBRATING WOMEN (AS ONE SHOULD!) ALL THESE THINGS COULD BE MADE USING A MINIMUM OF MATERIAL AND EXPENSES. NO SHIPPING. NO FRAMING. FAST TRACKING. BAD TIMING. THINGS COULD BE MIGRATORY. AMBULATORY. MORE LIKE PERFORMANCE. A TRAVELLING CIRCUS. BLOWING UP IN SPACE. TEMPORALITY. IMPROV. HURRY UP. CHASE IT DOWN. A VOCABULARY. SUBJECTIVE LANGUAGE. EXTENDED IN TIME AND PLACE. (Karl Holmqvist)

Let's take a break. Coffee and cigarettes. And let us be taken away by the latest trend: NAENAE.