The Animals from Planet No. 6

The Animals from Planet No. 6. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Video installation. Copenhagen, 1985

I am about 12 years old when I see people in Louisiana crawling under some ingeniously arranged low strings. I am deeply moved. I love the freedom in this, that you can do such a thing more or less seriously.

I enter the Academy in 1979. During the first two years I discover video art. Until now, I have only been acquainted with performances and, before that, happenings. Video art reminds me of the profoundly illogical airy-fairy actions I have seen in happenings, and then I become fascinated by it.

At that time video was so wonderfully unnoticed in art history. This provided great freedom. My curiosity could romp freely in a new and unknown landscape: video art.

“The Animals from Planet No. 6” is my first video installation made in collaboration with the pictorial artist Trine Vester (1957-1998).

We take Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek’s collection as our starting point. We tell strange modern tales about man.

The video installation consists of eight videos, each with its own sequence, where people perform “essential” actions. We let some sculptures observe the installation.