Filmform (est. 1950) is dedicated to preservation, promotion and worldwide distribution of experimental film and video art. Constantly expanding, the distribution catalogue spans from 1924 to the present, including works by Sweden’s most prominent artists and filmmakers, available to rent for public screenings and exhibitions as well as for educational purposes.
Hockey depicts a game between unnamed teams, directed and filmed by the artist in front of 13,000 empty seats at the Stockholm Globe Arena. Pushed to the fore is Larsson’s preoccupation with the props and rituals of a game and the surrounding structure. A concentration of brand logos and symbols is embedded everywhere. Reinforcing and guiding Larsson’s specific focus, the soundtrack incorporates synthetic hockey noises with synth pop music (conceived by Larsson, arranged by Larsson and Tobias Bernstrup, performed by Tobias Bernstrup). Although traditionally set in hierarchal terms, in this game penalty and triumph are held evenly. Similar to Larsson’s earlier work, her interest here lies in control and suggestion, taking apart the real game with each movement and edit finely engineered. Although Larsson is clearly obsessed with control, within her fetishistic nature lies a willingness to engage in unnpredictable circumstances. The result is a visceral and disorienting experience for the viewer.
Extract from press release at Andrea Rosen Gallery, 2004
Born in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
Annika Larsson is a Swedish artist, working mainly with film, video, performance and installation. She is interested n incidental but meaningful gestures and rituals, in corporal-linguistic patterns of behavior that conceal hierarchical social power structures. Annika Larsson attended the Royal University College of Fine Arts, Stockholm from1995-2000. Playing with concepts such as power, submission, and violence her work touches upon the almost ritual quality of everyday actions.
Through iteration Larsson produces a form of psychological slow motion, where the spectator is lulled into a soporific state in which time is clearly flowing but also standing still.Her works have been widely shown internationally, at institutions including Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel; Fundacion la Caixa, Barcelona; Le Magasin, Grenoble; Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Nürnberg; ICA-Institute of Contemporary Art, London; ZKM, Karlsruhe; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; S.M.A.K., Gent and Musac, Lyon. She has participated in biennials such as 49th Venice Biennial, 8th Istanbul Biennial and 6th Shanghai Biennial among others.
