Bigert & Bergström: Engaged Cool Duo from Stockholm
Mats Bigert (1965) and Lars Bergström (1962) have formed an artistic duo since their studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm. Besides documentaries, their work also includes exhibitions, conceptual art and installations in public space. In 1993, they participated in the Venice Biennale with their installation Adrenaline Dream and have exhibited their work across the world ever since. They often deal with current social and climatic issues. Discover the Swedish duo through their films for free!
During their successful career, Bigert & Bergström's have produced a large number of artworks. Their sculptures and installations are often based on digital technologies and intended for interaction, changing their shape or colour after being touched or according to the weather. By placing unexpected objects in public space, the artists change the context of places where people pass every day. For instance, they have placed their artwork Tomorrow's Weather at the Stockholm Central Station. They hung giant molecules of H2O, C2 and N2 which change their colour according to the weather forecast for the following day. Another transformation of the public space called Ecco Humor consisted in placing a large curved mirror in the underground parking lot of Dunkers Culture House in Helsingborg, Sweden. The fifty-metre-wide and six-metre-high wall of super reflective stainless steel is the largest of its kind in the world.
Their latest film from the past year is entitled MOMENTS OF SILENCE. It captures moments in which the world stops and falls silent for a minute or two. The film is compiled of archive footage of minutes of silence honouring the victims of conflicts or natural disasters.
In 2002–2012, the duo made a loose trilogy about the human obsession with control. The first film entitled LIFE EXTENDED follows the desire to live forever, introducing a gerontologist who believes that humanity will be immortal soon, a monk who prepares his soul for its posthumous journey by long marathons and architects who construct spaces that slow down ageing. The middle part of the trilogy, THE MOUSE, deals with the ancient relationship between men and mice. It presents the fields in which we meet these small rodents and shows that we would have zero knowledge of genetics without laboratory texts. The third part follows climatic change and its impact. In THE WEATHER WAR, the directors travel to the US with a special machine-sculpture called Tornado Diverter whose goal is to stop tornados. The film deals with the theme of climate change and human influence on it in general.
LAST SUPPER captures the tradition of a final meal before an execution, ironically alluding to the original biblical dimension of the phrase. The protagonist is a former prison chef who used to prepare the last meal for the convicts. The film combines documentary scenes, interviews and animated sequences.
Watch the films by the duo of artists from Sweden at DAFilms.com until September 20 for free!
Selected films
At certain times, dates and places, pedestrians halt, traffic stops and silence ensues. For just a moment, generally counted in minutes, the world is a frozen arrow pointing at the thought of something important, so important that it should never be forgotten...
Lars Bergström, Mats Bigert
Moments of Silence
Life Extended continues Bigert & Bergström's exploration of the human strife to control life and death. In this film we meet the gerontologist who believes we will be immortal in the near future, the architects who construct spaces to slow down the aging process, the monk who runs for a thousand days in order to strengthen his spirit for it's immortal journey, the street kids who live in the moment, and many others...
Life Extended
The Mouse is an art/documentary film that deals with the complex and contradictory position of the mouse in our lives. The relation between mice and men began around 10.000 years ago, when humans became resident and the mouse saw the possibility to steal food and warmth from them. Today, the mouse has a broad and important impact on our everyday lives...
The Weather War is a documentary/art film about man's attempts to control the weather and harness it for his own purposes. In a blend of land art performance and road movie, artist duo Bigert & Bergström travel to the US tornado belt with their special machine-sculpture, the Tornado Diverter. The goal: To stop a tornado...
The Weather War
The last supper has been given to prisoners facing the death penalty as long as the punishment has existed. The tradition stems from funeral rites where the deceased person was given food on his deathbed to protect him on his journey to the afterlife. Today, the ritual of giving the last supper to the condemned person has been detached from its origin, and can be perceived to be as absurd as the punishment it accompanies...
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