Randi & Katrine: Kiosks in KIOSK

Betalt indhold

Pressemeddelelse:

We are very pleased to present a new exhibition by Danish artists Randi & Katrine. Randi & Katrine explore the kiosk as a concept and its function as a social and architectural space in the city.

KIOSK is the former, now defunct, kiosk building in the grounds of Frederiksberg Hospital. The KIOSK building still has the outward appearance and inner furniture of glass shelves and a counter of its former life, with, but decay is lurking. For the exhibition, the Frisko ice-cream signs have been re-painted on the windows of the kiosk, and the building is filled with colourful goods. The kiosk in KIOSK is reborn as an installation.

On stacks of beer crates, canned cola, and cardboard packaging, one finds small, actually existing kiosks from all over the world, recreated in miniature. The kiosk’s colourful world of images is reborn, along with the expectation of every-day small breaks of ice cream, newspapers, magazines, and cigarettes, which used to fill the small buildings to the brim, and the personal relationship between customers and kiosk owners. The artists explore the nostalgia for the personal, excentric and local that is rapidly disappearing from the cityscape and outer areas.

In the past, this kiosk primarily served the hospital’s patients. They and their visitors could find everything their hearts desired, flowers, magazines, chocolate, cigarettes, and toiletries. The exhibition by Randi & Katrine recreates the small shop of desire in a world of sickness and medical treatment.

Are we killing the city’s small kiosks?
The kiosk as an architectural type and social space in the city can be dated back to the 14th century Ottoman Empire. The open or half-open pavilion structures facilitated the intimate exchange of goods and small remarks about every-day matters. In the late 19th century, the number of small pavilion structures exploded, partly to sell freshly printed newspapers. Since then, small kiosks all over the world have served local areas with sought-after goods and the exchange of local knowledge, and with an architectural surplus of carved wooden details and improvised sheds.
Kiosks are now disappearing rapidly from the cityscape, not only in Denmark, but around the world, from Greece and Sweden to the United States – a trip to the kiosk may soon be a thing of the past.

In a few years, the hospital will also be completely removed from the old hospital area, which is being converted into a new attractive city district. Is there room for the small local kiosk in this new urban space? Room for the curious, colourful, personal, and local? KIOSK is still standing, but the building is threatened with demolition…

In their exhibition “Kiosks in KIOSK”, Randi & Katrine cast a loving look at the kiosk as a building type, social function, and element of urban space.

Dette indhold er produceret i samarbejde med et udstillingssted som en del af udstillingstedets Artguide-abonnement hos kunsten.nu.
Kunsten.nus uafhængige redaktion har intet at gøre med indholdet.