MADS LYNNERUP

BIRD ON A SHOULDER

 In Bird on a Shoulder a drone is seen flying over the streets of San Francisco, while a female character collects books from free book libraries scattered across a residential neighborhood. The books collected at the libraries forms the voice over and narrative, creating a multiple faceted commentary on co-dependency between pet birds and humans as well as our relationship to technology. The soundtrack to the video is provided by an accordion player serenading the streets of San Francisco.

JEWISH FOLKTALES RETOLD

Elijah’s Golden Finger Mountain Violin, 2017-2018

For the exhibition Jewish Folktales Retold: Artist as Maggid, Mads was commissioned to respond to a selection of Jewish folktales edited and included in Howard Schwartz's anthology Leaves from the Garden of Eden: One Hundred Classic Jewish Tales (2009), which compiles stories from a vast array of countries and centuries, and from both oral and written traditions. When reading the folktales Mads was noticing how most of them had the most elaborate, unusual, and magical moments that would transform the stories in very unexpected ways. Acting as modern maggid—storyteller, Mads chose different uncanny moments from three of the folktales and weaved them together into a new story. A more fantastical and condensed story bringing light to the turning points and transitional moments.

ROUTINES, SDR. BOULEVARD, COPENHAGEN

Commissioned by U-Turn, the first quadrennial tor contemporary art in Copenhagen, Denmark (September S - November 9, 2008) Mads produced a video installation and a series of ten posters that described the routines of people living in the neighborhood near Sonder Boulevard, a central street in Copenhagen, Denmark. Like a private investigator Mads observed for more than 4 weeks the routines taking place m the area, taking notes and making drawings based on his observations. He then produce ten posters of the different routines as well as a video in which he explains the routines as they are about to happen behind his back.

EVERYTHING HAS BEEN DONE

In this video a book lights on fire, as it gets opened. - The book was published by Colpa Press in San Francisco and is in a limited edition of 50 in which 10 out of the 50 books has the potential of lighting on fire, when opening the book. Every book comes in a sealed bag, so there’s no way to tell what books will light on fire or not.

To purchase one of the books. Click on this link: https://www.colpapress.com/products/everything-has-been-done#.XabCqJNKiL8

SHADOWS

The video Shadows is an experiment in framing and recording the shadows Mads sees in his apartment on pieces of paper. The video also referencing Peter Pan losing his shadow and having to have it sewed back on. 

PRESENTATION

In this video, Mads’ mother shows her friend Mads’ work, while a camera documents their candid conversations about his work. The comments from Mads’ mother’s friend, reassembles some of the skepticism and preconception that some people might have about contemporary art.

CHASING THE BUS

Chasing the Bus was made for an exhibition curated by Kate Fowle called “17 Reasons” at Jack Hanley Gallery in San Francisco. In the video, Mads chases down a bus only to get off the bus again at its next stop. After letting the bus depart, Mads begins all over again chasing the bus.

This video is an excerpt from a 25min video

THREE VIDEOS - RUNNING - HAT - TANK

Running, Hat and Tank are 3 short videos made between 1999-2000 and are all performances designed for the camera. Hat and Tank were influenced by a trip to Cuba in 2000, and play with the expectation of the audience, a childhood fantasy, while incorporating a sense of slapstick humor.

UNTYING A SHOE WITH AN ERECTION, 2003

Performed in front of a stationary camera, Mads Lynnerup’s short video Untying a Shoe with an Erection depends almost entirely on the function of the frame. Influenced by performance and film work of Andy Warhol and Vito Acconci from the 1960s, Lynnerup’s video becomes an exercise in the suspension of disbelief, involving viewers in his visual gag, as we imagine more than we actually see.