Anton Benois
‘End of History (Part 1)’
14th October – 29th October
Opening: Friday 13th October 19.00–22.00
Opening hours: Saturday–Sunday 12.00–14-00
Q. Where does evil live?
In the mind, in the soul?
A. Maybe it lives in the flesh?
– Body Parts (1991)
‘End of History (part 1)’ is a video work performed as therapeutic horror filmmaking, an exploration of methodology for traversing societal trauma and extreme psychological states. ‘End of History (part 1)’ is likewise a horror film, a visual spectacle of hazy memories and present anxieties – and an absurdly long trailer for a film - a trailer that spoils the end.
The work is framed through a hauntological lens. It references a wide range of 80s and 90s horror films and specifically trailers for those films - films that were massively consumed by the ‘haunted generation.’ In this work fragmented reenactments and derivative dialogues and visualities of the horror genre find their place in a reimagined context. Incorporating familiar metaphors and mythical horror tropes Benois’ work explores horror’s uncanny ability to embody the lurking fears evoked by evolving social, cultural, and political changes.
Benois' work examines the parasitic nature of nostalgia, drawing a connection between the nostalgic longing for the romanticized soviet past and the brutal results of such longing - seen in the full-scale war as a result of the russian invasion of Ukraine. In ‘End of history (part 1)’ evil enters the body through Benois’ hand, appearing as an Orthodox cross protruding from his flesh. The parasites of nostalgia immediately enter the bloodstream of its host, and the infected hand ultimately needs to be severed from the body to prevent the evil from spreading any further.
Anton Benois is an Oslo based artist, primarily working with video and object-based installations. In his practice Benois often explores the borderlines between personal narratives and societal myth-making. His recent works have examined the sociocultural narratives present in various domestic and mass-produced objects, such as clothing items, furniture, as well as massively consumed films and popular screen media, investigating how these physical and visual objects have shaped and continue to shape our minds and actions. Benois graduated from Kunstakademiet i Trondheim with an MFA in 2019, having previously studied at Tromsø Kunstakademiet. He has had solo exhibitions at Podium in Oslo, Telemark Kunstsenter in Skien and Babel Visningrom for Kunst in Trondheim. He has been part of Høstustillingen, Østlandsutstillingen and Trøndelagsutstillingen. Benois’ video work has been shown in film festivals in Australia, Norway, Thailand and Switzerland.
Supported by Oslo Kommune and Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond with additional support from Atelier Nord