September 7, 2021 – September 12, 2021
Signum Foundation is pleased to present Killing the Boredom, an exhibition of four short films (including two premiers) by Wilhelm Sasnal at Palazzo Donà Brusa in Venice.
Wilhelm Sasnal (born in Tarnów in 1972 and based in Krakow) is a Polish painter and filmmaker.
His films are deeply personal and directly tied to the artist’s everyday life. Drawing on the history of the 20th century Polish tradition of Personal Cinema and the visual character of non-mainstream music videos, his films are highly sensitive to the juxtaposition of images and music.
Although Sasnal has made few feature films, he, alongside his wife Anka, tend to avoid strong narrative structures when creating shorter works. “As with the paintings, I just let them follow their own flow.”
PROGRAMME
1.Columbus, 2014 / 27’
Production: Lismore Castle Arts, Sadie Coles HQ
Sasnal became interested in the 15th century Italian explorer as an ambiguous historical figure after he read a contemporary account of Columbus’s mental health, which puts forward the theory that he may have suffered from bipolar disorder.
He interweaves sections of film with title cards that tell the story of Columbus’s voyage to the New World through a series of laconic statements in which historical facts blur with otherworldly fable. The film examines the coloniser’s state-of-mind and legacy in an oblique, home-movie style.
2.Killing the Boredom, 2021 / 5’33’’
The film takes us on a psychedelic trip in a very visual and intuitive manner. Drawing from the tradition of psychedelic cinema, which radically uses personal archival footage, visual distortion, and experimental narratives, Killing the Boredom depicts a highly disturbing psychedelic experience.
3.Developing Tank, 2015 / 4’
Production: Johnen Galerie, Esther Schipper Galerie, Berlin
Developing Tank revolves around a visit to an old family home. Encountering the now abandoned space, the protagonist finds an undeveloped reel with the footage he filmed 25 years ago.
The film subsequently conflates memories of being taught to handle and develop film stock with the imagined content of the mysteriously abandoned reel.
4.Litany, 2015 / 2’43’’
Poetic film shot entirely on 16mm.
Litany confronts the topics of religion and pop culture in a very poetic and visually engaging manner with the ambiguous and obscure use of both a text from a traditional Litany and a popular song from an alternative 80’s rock band.
ARTIST BIO:
Wilhelm Sasnal (b. 1972, Tarnow, Poland, based in Cracow). Painter, drawer, filmmaker, and comic artist. Wilhelm Sasnal has performed both solo and group shows throughout Europe and the USA including: Take Me To The Other Side, Lismore Castle Arts, Ireland (2014); shows at Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (2012); Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (2011); K21, Düsseldorf, Germany; and the Centre for Contemporary Art in Malaga, Spain (both 2009); Wilhelm Sasnal – Years of Struggle, Zacheta Narodowa Sztuki, Warsaw (2008); Matrix, The Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, California (2005); and Kunsthalle in Zurich, Switzerland (2003). He was a participant in the 26thBiennial in Sao Paolo in 2004, and was shortlisted, alongside four other finalists, for the 2004 Vincent Prize at the Stedelijk Museum.
From the very beginning of Sansal’s artistic career, there have been two important currents that have developed simultaneously: paintings and films. In recent years, together with his wife Anka, the artist has directed feature films: Swineherd (2008), It looks pretty from a distance (2011), Alexander (2013), Huba (2013) and The Sun, the sun blinded me (2016). Their films have been presented at some of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, including: Rotterdam International Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival and the 11th New Horizons Film Festival, winning the Best New Polish Film award. Wilhelm Sasnal mostly uses 16 mm film when shooting.