HELGA WRETMAN
Pleasure Region
April 28 - July31, 2012
Club Midnight, Berlin

Club Midnight is pleased to present the first solo show of Helga Wretman.
The show is a reflection of a world where providing services is a tradition: buying or selling yourself, your time or your talent. Services give customers a pleasurable experience: The exhibition is inspired by the urban context that surrounds the gallery.
Helga Wretman develops the performative aspect of her work through producing a series of objects.
Pleasure Region is a slogan that could promote a place full of promises, joy, wealth and happiness. It also reminds us of a specific area in the brain, the "pleasure center". The pleasure center regulates emotions: it controls and release dopamine, it controls muscle function, and also releases beta-endorphins, which decrease pain. Oxytocin, which increases feelings of trust, and vasopressin, which increases bonding, are also produced in the pleasure center of the brain.
A series of 3 oil paintings on large canvas: Volcano, Crator, Cave are on display.
The three paintings are classic landscape paintings with realistic inserts. They recall the allegorical and symbolic meaning that was used during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The paintings represent three different landscapes: the top of a volcano, a crater of a meteorite, and the entrance to a cave.
Two alienating elements are inserted into these landscapes: a miniature portrait of the artist, which she originally used as her casting image, and an apple.
On one wall of the gallery there is projection of a gif file, Pink Hole, which shows an image of a black hole downloaded from Wikipedia, translated into a different color and texture.
A special IRobot, MyRoomba, will welcome the viewer in the gallery space. This hi-tech robot was originally designed as a vacuum cleaner. Now this Roomba mutation is programed to meet and bump into viewers to catch their attention.

Helga Wretman is born in Stokholm,1985. She lives & works in Berlin). This is her first solo show in Berlin. In her recent group show : 2012, a series of performance for Re-opening of Palays de Tokyo; 2011, 2011 performance "Safety is Sexy" at Kik in der Kok Festival in Tallinn Estonia, performance "The Safety Protocol" at Bergen Kunsthall Norway, Internet performance "Fitness for Artists global" at Duve Gallery Berlin, performance "The safety Protocole" and "Fitness for Artists" at Based in Berlin, performance and installation in group show curated by Felisa funnies at Grimm Museum, berlin; 2010, performance at Darsa Comfort in Zürich, Performance Sulumya Kula LOL (lots of love) at Kunsthalle Athena; 2009, performance "GSM (global short message)" at NADA art fair Miami, "SALLY'S", berlin.

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1. The three paintings are hand painted by Gleb Bas (www.glebbas.com)
2. The MyRoomba is programmed by Fubbi Karlsson (grid.fubbi.com)
3. Black Hole was transformed by Bea Walling (thebea.net)

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