The surface of the bottomless pit

Karl Edvin Endresen first made his mark in the weak spot of the collective unconscious (i.e. the media) when he graduated as a bachelor at the academy in Oslo, by making a violent statement out of the construction of a kitchen from IKEA on the spot, which ended abruptly with police attending the show, removing the artist from the premises after the inclusion of an illegal component; the unpredictable, and very illegal, substance known as GHB. The day after the entire installation was removed in what seems to have been a co-operation between the institution (the Stenersen museum in Oslo) and forces at the academy unwilling and/ or unable to see any qualities in the work beyond mere sensationalism. Their problem, we could say, but as this is within the structure of the highest art education in the country, it is in fact everybodys problem. These people should be shot. Of course, as should already be obvious, Karl Edvin Endresen acts as a correspondent for contemporary art from within the cultural war zone of what could be defined as the darker side of party culture. This includes unlimited forms, variations and degrees of substance abuse, petty crime for the thrill of it, and recently; the artist as victim of psychopathic torture being filmed by a mobilephone. The kind of evil shit you may find on youtube if you´re looking for it before it gets removed. As should also be stated, when reality comes close enough to almost kill the artist, Endresen is not sent in within this context as some form of agent from the art world - he was already part of it before attending art school. What we have here then is a blurred line of the defintion of the artist as criminal and vice versa, but as long as we´re within the context of the show we should first and foremost relate to him as an artist, and his work as art. Naturally, those of us who dont want any trouble are ready to dismiss this at whatever cost, and those of us who get our adrenaline kicks from this kind of dangerous tactics will stand ready to scream for more. The truth - and this is really in its essence about a quest for truth, albeit from a distorted perspective not everyone can relate to - lies, as always, somewhere in between. Essentially thoughtprovoking (even though it not only provokes mere thoughts, but the whole organism), the output from Karl Edvin Endresen seems to fill a gap within the contemporary art scene, and provide us with a piece of the puzzle whose existence many would readily deny. And many do. Make no mistakes, the insights provided here can be dangerous for real, whether it be the fragile structure of the mind or the ever weaker fabric of society - this report from the very edge neverthelesss gives us the opportunity to reflect on such various issues as the hidden economy beneath the surface of the world as we know it, the connection between the fields (we already know art is no stranger to crime, and murder sites do sometimes come across as major installation/performance works), the possibilities for subculture to escape the mainstream, and above all, nothing less than the relevance of the laws concerning victimless crime. You should not miss this opportunity, in ten years time, millions will claim to have been there. And in this generally confused period, a shot of ugly reality might just be the medication I would suggest as your doctor.

Tommy Olsson