Mads Holm | Paula Duvå

I look at War

16.06. – 27.07.2018

'I look at War' is centered around looking at societies at war from a distance of the actual warfare. It is an experiment in treating photographs of war in the art space without the use of aesthetic drama and photographic techniques often used by war photographers. The Danish artists Mads Holm and Paula Duvå look at what happens before and after the acts of war and how war from a distance can be experienced in everyday life.

The two main works of the exhibition gather multiple pictures under the titles 'Barrier operation' and 'Dining in Deportation Center Sjælsmark'. 'Barrier operation' shows the urban military simulation center Schnöggersburg north of Magdeburg. Since 2018 the ghost town functions as a combat training area for the Bundeswehr. It consists of 520 buildings, four different city districts, sewers, an industrial zone, a metro tunnel, forest areas, 16,5 kilometres of streets and a river – all in all more than six square kilometres.

'Dining in Deportation Center Sjælsmark' documents the food served for breakfast, lunch and dinner over the course of a week in the canteen. The center for rejected asylum seekers is located in a military area north of Copenhagen.