ARTIST STATEMENT

Performance is the foundation of my artistic practice, working foremost with Long Duration Live Performance. The presence of both the artist and the public are placed in the center of my work. The reduction of the visual image is fundamental in my performances, videos and photographs. To me it is imperative to always renew my ideas and ways of working and I see it as an enrichment to constantly work with new materials and subject areas.

 

I was born in 1972 in Malmö, Sweden but have both lived, worked and studied in England and Germany. I graduated from Dartington College of Arts, UK in 1999 and in 2001 joined the performance class of Marina Abramovic at the HBK Braunschweig, Germany, where I graduated with a Diplom in Fine Arts in 2005.

 

The public is an essential part of my work, particularly when working on long duration performance, as their presence becomes part of the live experience. Of course, in Long Duration Live Performance duration and time are important. To keep an image present over several hours or even over several days is the main challenge in this art form. The sustained long duration can simultaneously be perceived as both exciting and boring, both eventful and monotonous. The mission to stimulate the public, capture their attention and keep it, is reflected in the endurance of the artist, who simultaneously works on maintaining the position, the presence and the concentration on what is performed.

BIOGRAPHY

Anna Berndtson is a Swedish performance artist working foremost with Long Duration Live Performance. The foundation of her practice is the presence of both the artist and the public. Her body and her own perception are placed in the center of the work and the reduction of the visual image is fundamental in her performances, videos and photographs.

 

She graduated from Dartington College of Arts, UK in 1999 and in 2001 joined the performance class of Marina Abromovic at the HBK Braunschweig, Germany. In 2003 she co-founded the performance duo, TBL (TallBlondLadies), together with Irina Runge. Next to Anna Berndtson’s solo-performances the work with TBL is a significant part of her artistic work. She graduated with a Diplom in Fine Arts from the HBK in 2005.

 

She has performed and exhibited work extensively including; Fondation Beyeler, Basel, the Bluecoat, Liverpool, Liljevalchs, Stockholm, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, The LAB Gallery, Dublin, Artists Space, New York, Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin, PS1 MoMA, New York, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam and VV2 at the Venice Biennale.

 

In 2006 Anna Berndtson was awarded the Worpswede Künstlerhäuser artist-in-residence grant as well as the grant from Aase och Richard Björklunds fond. In 2007 and 2010 – 2011 she got the work grant from Konstnärsmämden in Sweden and during 2010 she was on the Artist-in-Residence grant at the Fire Station Artists’ Studios in Dublin. In 2012 she spent 3 months at the Artist-in-Residency Program, Nordic Artists' Centre Dalsåsen, Norway. During 2013 she stayed as a resident for one month in the Bergman Estate on Fårö in Sweden. In 2014 she was awarded the grant from Aase och Richard Björklunds fond for a second time.