April, 2023
During the spring of 2023, curator Sofia Ringstedt worked in close dialogue with the artist Meriç Algün in preparation for her solo exhibition A Glossary of Distance and Desire, which opened on April 1st. Below, Sofia herself briefly describes the exhibition and her experience working on it.
Question: Depicting eternal love through visual art can be complex. How does Meriç Algün approach this theme?
Sofia Ringstedt: Just as the title suggests, A Glossary of Distance and Desire, the exhibition becomes like a spatial dictionary of separation and desire. In my opinion, Meriç approaches the themes in a systematic but playful and intuitive way. As often in Meriç’s artistic practice, she manages to convey multi-layered ideas that feel both innovative and self-evident through her works. The materials she presents follow their own logical system, where she has assembled different thought-worlds that open up how we can talk about love. Above all, I think she approaches the theme in an accepting and open manner, inviting the visitor to make their own connections and interpretations.
Q: The exhibition introduces us to an entirely new work by Meriç Algün that can be experienced in one of the visitor restrooms. How did it come about?
SR: For several years, Meriç has been working with and collecting Calvin Klein’s advertisements for the perfume Eternity. The advertising campaign for Eternity, which has spanned 35 years, features American model Christy Turlington portrayed with different men and children representing her happy family. The work Eternity 1988–∞ is an ongoing piece that currently consists of 44 full-page ads for the perfume, while the new sound piece Eternity (Forever) consists of edited audio tracks from the commercials. The works serve as humorous reminders of how capitalism can profit from our constant longing for eternal love. Initially, there was an idea to incorporate the audio tracks into Eternity 1988–∞, allowing visitors to experience them together with the ads. When we experimented with this, it quickly became clear that the sound needed its own defined space. Placing it inside one of the visitor restrooms brought out new aspects of the audio and it became apparent that it was a new autonomous work, Eternity (Forever).