The Kirsty Archives, an exhibition by Anna Gulmann and Hannah Heilmann, Danske Grafikeres Hus, Copenhagen, 2011

‘The Kirsty Archives’ is a home, a scene, a hotel and an art installation by artist Hannah Heilmann and designer Anna Gulmann at Danske Grafikeres Hus, Copenhagen, February 11 – March 13, 2011. Who doesn’t recall the feeling of carrying out the chores of adult life as a foolish charade that no one is supposed to expose? Playing office, playing professional, playing responsible, generally just pretending everything is under control. Is the doctor playing doctor sometimes? The school teacher playing school teacher, the politician, politician and the journalist, journalist? Kirsty! Sabotaging morale at the post office. Playing chess against herself, cultivating brunette cabage. The dominating travel guide in a non-existent archipelago. Sometimes she is blind. A servile party machine yet so aloof. Is Kirsty really blind? Contrary to most other people Kirsty really does not observe herself from the outside. This curly brunette that originated in designer Anna Gulmann’s notebook in 2001. For every chapter of Kirsty’s career, Gulmann has made a wardrobe, enabling Kirsty to play the role of the one who does not fit in – without anyone noticing. The Kirsty archives have been carried out as a collaboration between designer Anna Gulmann and artist Hannah Heilmann, each searching out the broadness of their respective turfs. The exhibition unites existing material with new productions: performances, video, scenography, clothes andobjects, as if Kirsty had just left the building. Often there is more than one Kirsty at a time, at times complimenting the other, or otherwise competing: a rather confusing feature of Kirsty’s that The Kirsty Archives mirror in its inclusion of many past and present collaborators. The opening will witness several performances, one stage managed by Helle Fuglsang and incorporating seasoned Kirsty-performers and music by Teppop. The installation includes a new video by Hannah Heilmann with Kirsty’s from the artist collective Flux Factory in NYC, and also features historic Kirsty material by the art group Ingen Frygt, as well as letters for Kirsty from loyal supporters. Performances Friday February 11 and March 11, 2011, 05.30 p.m.