I do not know why I never posted this - forgetfulness or perhaps a result of the chaotic process itself. But this exhibition has a special place in my memory, both because of the space itself, but also as it marked my first solo exhibition in Seoul.
The video installation took place in ‘This Is Not a Church’ (TINC) @this_is_not_a_church located in the Samseon-dong neighborhood of Seoul. As its name reveals, it was once a church, built in the 1980s. The old weathered blue sign of the former Myeongseong Church still remains. The space had a special atmosphere, packed in the original brutalist concrete pulpit, almost alien, while I was also feeling alien and out of place. The installation process ended up quite chaotic, with me arriving in Seoul with a small suitcase with just a couple of media players, unsure of how it all would all come together. But luckily, I was put into contact with the great @87hoon who I can thank for making the exhibition happen.
The exhibition showcased a version of my ‘We. They. There.’ project, an ongoing in-process work since 2016. The work itself revolves around what is out-of-sync which mirrored my own feeling of displacement. We. They. There. is constructed as an episodic series. Each episode is a standalone piece, but the different scenes form a larger narrative mosaic, designed to be remixed and recontextualized for each exhibition. The episodes blend and the scenes take a different chronology for each iteration.
A big thank you to Chunghyung Lee for the curation.
Excerpt 02, 'Onomatopoeia for a Hissing Kettle: Part One'.
Filmed performance. 2025.
Onomatopoeia for a Hissing Kettle: Part One is a silent story about being together in a world of make-believe, the fear of otherness, and the necessity of looking beyond the ingrained patterns that constitute our everyday assumptions, learned behaviors and cultural conditioning.
A group of beekeepers find themselves in a void while ritualistically carrying out their work. However, the bees, nature, and surroundings are no longer present. The beekeepers struggle to find a common foothold in this limbo, like ghosts reaching out for each other but constantly losing their orientation. Gradually, the void creeps in on them. Their common points of reference slowly drift apart, where absence itself becomes the embodiment of their mutual relationship.
The performance is part of a series about our disappearing world relationship and the broken communities we are a part of. Using traditional mime techniques combined with elements from contemporary dance, the performance is an invitation to let the viewer be a co-creator of the narrative. Mime theatre is used conceptually to illuminate the social contracts we are entangled by and what happens when we lose faith in them.
The work was directed by Mark Tholander, and performed by Joana Ellen Öhlschläger, André Kaliff, Julie Kunz and Søren Høi. Filmed by Grow Productions Aps.
Through the beekeepers, a multifaceted metaphor about communities and relationship to the surrounding world is presented. The beekeepers are dressed in protective suits against the influence of a world that is not present. As isolated capsules, they lose the possibility of a common connection, and can only find this through shared actions, while clinging to recognisable patterns and points of reference.
The Onomatopoeia series is about togetherness. A community does not exist. It must be invented. Gradually, the belief in the organization of society lives on as a mythology. These mythologies transform into bodily impregnations, or uniforms that we wear. When the pillars of these shared assumptions begin to shake, the house of cards collapses.
Installation views, Weary Chuckle #2, from the Critters and Quiet Oddities exhibition in ODP3, Copenhagen. Curated by Koffi & Højgaard (Pauline Koffi Vandet and Ida Højgaard Thjømøe). The exhibition 'Critters and Quiet Oddities' explored ideas of normality, otherness and the ‘monsters’ in our unconscious perceptions.
Weary Chuckle #2 consists of an armchair covered with a multitude of brooches: an everyday object, typically associated with relaxation and safety, transformed into a potentially dangerous surface. The sculpture thematized vulnerability and the barriers we construct around ourselves. Our familiarity with brooches provides an immediate bodily response to remind us that the needle of a brooch, if not attached correctly, can unexpectedly penetrate the skin. This refers to normality as body horror: a discomfort that rises from the familiar.
Photo: Rine Rodin.
@koffihojgaard@odp3_ovenpaa
Teaser from our performance at Riga Performance Festival (Latvia) @starptelpa
Live adaption of the Onomatopoeia series. Performed in Zuzeum Art Museum @zuzeum
Co-performers: Joana Ellen Öhlschläger and Laura Marie Madsen. Vocals: Laura Marie Madsen @lm_madsen
Video: Arthur Aizikovich @aaizikovich
New projects underway - a film and a performance. Things are a little slower at the moment, as these are long-term projects. There is munching. In the meantime.
Excerpt 01, 'Onomatopoeia for a Hissing Kettle: Part One'.
Filmed performance. 2025.
Onomatopoeia for a Hissing Kettle: Part One is a silent story about being together in a world of make-believe, the fear of otherness, and the necessity of looking beyond the ingrained patterns that constitute our everyday assumptions, learned behaviors and cultural conditioning.
A group of beekeepers find themselves in a void while ritualistically carrying out their work. However, the bees, nature, and surroundings are no longer present. The beekeepers struggle to find a common foothold in this limbo, like ghosts reaching out for each other but constantly losing their orientation. Gradually, the void creeps in on them. Their common points of reference slowly drift apart, where absence itself becomes the embodiment of their mutual relationship.
The performance is part of a series about our disappearing world relationship and the broken communities we are a part of. Using traditional mime techniques combined with elements from contemporary dance, the performance is an invitation to let the viewer be a co-creator of the narrative. Mime theatre is used conceptually to illuminate the social contracts we are entangled by and what happens when we lose faith in them.
The work was directed by Mark Tholander, and performed by Joana Ellen Öhlschläger, André Kaliff, Julie Kunz and Søren Høi. Filmed by Grow Productions Aps.
Through the beekeepers, a multifaceted metaphor about communities and relationship to the surrounding world is presented. The beekeepers are dressed in protective suits against the influence of a world that is not present. As isolated capsules, they lose the possibility of a common connection, and can only find this through shared actions, while clinging to recognisable patterns and points of reference.
The Onomatopoeia series is about togetherness. A community does not exist. It must be invented. Gradually, the belief in the organization of society lives on as a mythology. These mythologies transform into bodily impregnations, or uniforms that we wear. When the pillars of these shared assumptions begin to shake, the house of cards collapses.
A group of beekeepers move like ghosts through Onkel Dannys Plads. They reach out to each other and try to cooperate, but the bees have disappeared. 🐝
Come join us this Saturday, May 24 14:00, for the performance «Onomatopoeia for a Hissing Kettle: Part One» by Mark Tholander.
The performance combines dance, music and acting. Through this, the beekeepers experience a series of memories, where hope for a new future and rebuilding relationships gradually emerges through their ritual remembrance.
The performance can be experienced at @odp3_cph in connection with the exhibition «Critters and Quiet Oddities», where Tholander is exhibiting together with Sophia Ioannou Gjerding. The exhibition is curated by Koffi & Højgaard and supported by @augustinusfonden , @vesterbrolokaludvalg , Rådet for Visuel Kunst in @koebenhavnskommune and @snabslanten
The performance is part of @artmatterfestival and @cph_stage
Performance credits: Mark Tholander: Writer, choreographer and performer
Laura Marie Madsen : Composer Joana Ellen Öhlschläger: choreographer and performer
Video: Rine Rodin @rinerodin@marktholander@sophiaioannougjerding@koffihojgaard@pynapelprinses@ida.hoejgaard
We’re thrilled to introduce you to the artists of this year’s live performance programme!
Mark Tholander (DK), Joana Öhlschläger (DE), Laura Marie (DK)
Performance “Onomatopoeia for a Hissing Kettle: Part One”
ZUZEUM Art Centre
29 May at 18:00
A group of beekeepers move like ghosts through a void. They reach out to each other and try to cooperate, but the bees have disappeared. They appear anonymous under the suits, isolated in a protected capsule from their surroundings. What are they protecting themselves from in this void where neither nature nor society exists? The performance combines dance, music and acting. Through this, the beekeepers go through a series of memories, gradually building hope for a new future and rebuilding relationships through their ritual remembrance.
Mark Tholander is a Danish visual and performance artist based in Copenhagen. His practice is occupied with communities, challenging the traditional notions of identity, togetherness and belonging.
Joana Öhlschläger is a German choreographer and dancer based in Copenhagen. Through transdisciplinary collaborations she constructs sensorial universes that employ humor, surprise and abstracted cliché to invite audiences into places of physical recognition, imagination and emotional permission.
Laura Marie is a Danish composer and vocalist based in Copenhagen. With the voice as a starting point for her compositions she utilises contrasts as a way to enhance nuances in the music and lyrical content.
MEET the visual artist @marktholander in his studio in Nørrebro. Tholander takes up topics
as community, identity, belonging and togetherness through performance, video installations
and sculptures.
At the Art Matter Festival, Tholander is exhibiting his work in the exhibition: Critters and Quiet Oddities at @odp3_cph
The exhibition explores ideas of normality, otherness and the ‘monsters’ in our unconscious
perceptions.
VISIT the exhibition from the 8th of May to the 29th of May 2025!
Cover photo: Agnete Bruun
Video by: @sarahklank
Interview by: @lkartvedt
#artmatterfestival2025 #art #performance #marktholander #odp3 #contemporaryart #performanceart
The Wardrobe (2024)
Performance. Premiered at Kunsthal Aarhus as a part of Ensembles and Monsters. Curated by Seolhui Lee. Part of an ongoing performance series still in development.
Filmed by Jacob Juhl and August Juhl.
Performed in collaboration with:
Kasper Jensen (mime choreography)
Laura Marie Madsen (vocals and songwriting) @lm_madsen
Søren Høi (rhythmic composition and drums) @sorenator5000
Sarah Owens (trumpet)
