Filmform (est. 1950) is dedicated to preservation, promotion and worldwide distribution of experimental film and video art. Constantly expanding, the distribution catalogue spans from 1924 to the present, including works by Sweden’s most prominent artists and filmmakers, available to rent for public screenings and exhibitions as well as for educational purposes.
The video Pirat is the first work by Annika Larsson that is entirely based on documentary material. It was shot by the artist in Stockholm on May 1st 2006 and shows a manifestation by the swedish anti copyright movement. Focusing on the aesthetics of the pirate movement and its strong iconic imagery, the video shows symbols, repeated, subverted and appropriated. Pirate flags against white sky, young androgynous men idle waiting, in silence, next to members of The Pirate Party dressed in black military/SWAT inspired uniforms, all gathered in front of a postmodern crescent-shaped building. Messages like ‘sharing is caring’ referring to digital file sharing, stickers for the bit-torrent tracker ‘The Pirate Bay’, skulls and black flags. Instead of offering an objective view the camera sticks closely to the obsession of bringing the spectator in an emotional state to what is displayed. The music intensifies and propellers the images towards a conclusion that is never reached. A ritual with no beginning or end.
Born in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
Annika Larsson is a Swedish artist, working mainly with film, video, performance and installation. She is interested n incidental but meaningful gestures and rituals, in corporal-linguistic patterns of behavior that conceal hierarchical social power structures. Annika Larsson attended the Royal University College of Fine Arts, Stockholm from1995-2000. Playing with concepts such as power, submission, and violence her work touches upon the almost ritual quality of everyday actions.
Through iteration Larsson produces a form of psychological slow motion, where the spectator is lulled into a soporific state in which time is clearly flowing but also standing still.Her works have been widely shown internationally, at institutions including Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel; Fundacion la Caixa, Barcelona; Le Magasin, Grenoble; Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Nürnberg; ICA-Institute of Contemporary Art, London; ZKM, Karlsruhe; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; S.M.A.K., Gent and Musac, Lyon. She has participated in biennials such as 49th Venice Biennial, 8th Istanbul Biennial and 6th Shanghai Biennial among others.
