Ola Astrand: White Limousine

In his exhibition White Limousine Ola Åstrand recreates the sense of abandonment and futility experienced by people today, a condition teetering between implosion and explosion. With the help of gigantic black and white screen prints, sculptures of fluttering plastic strips, loudspeakers and old clothes, he depicts a world on the verge of total collapse. The energy and forms of expression in Åstrand’s artistry have their roots in the world of strip cartoons and poster art of the 60s, as well as in the alternative rock scene and 70s punk. An instance of a work indebted to poster art is Tillsammans öppnar vi samhällets ångesthål (‘Together we let free the anxiety of society’), the fingertip screen print that first confronts the visitor.

White Limousine is a continuation of the project that Ola Åstrand began last spring at the Dunkers Kulturhus in Helsingborg. On both occasions he produced a flow of 100 different pictures that he was later to make use of in exhibitions. Here in the Göteborg Konsthall he presents new screen prints and remodelled sculptures and sound installations. As an integral part of the Dunkers Kulturhus exhibition Åstrand produced a book entitled White Limousine. The book accompanying the Göteborg exhibition has the same title but contains fresh material, to be found displayed in large scale in the exhibition.

The film The Judy Spots by the American video artist Sadie Benning has been chosen by Ola Åstrand to complement the exhibition. Benning, too, has her roots in the punk movement, and like Åstrand she explores the no man’s land between the laying bare of the individual and the presentation of the universal.

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Ola Astrand: White Limousine