John Skoog. VÄRN

In his photography, films, and videos, John Skoog (born 1985 in Kvidinge, Sweden, lives in Frankfurt am Main) combines research into history and everyday life with a poetic and fictional atmosphere that is grounded in the film and literary traditions of Scandinavian modernism. At Art Basel he received the Baloise Art Prize, with prize money of 30,000 Swiss francs, for his 2014 video Reduit (Redoubt). This work was the centerpiece of his new solo exhibition in Vienna, entitled VÄRN (Defense) and showing three of his film works for the first time in Austria. The artist presented Reduit (Redoubt) embedded within an installation on the museum’s Level –2. At the same time mumok cinema was screening the films Sent på Jorden (Late on Earth, 2011) and Förår (Early Spring, 2012). Together these three works form a trilogy that is not merely set in rural surroundings but also addresses the economic exploitation of the natural world. The artist also draws a picture of social realities that dispenses with any notions of rural innocence and security.