Eighteen is pleased to present
The Perception of Narcissus
A solo exhibition by Oliver Sundqvist
“I can’t recall when, but ever since that day when I saw my reflection for the first time as a child, my perception of the world changed. Mirrors have always had a prominent and symbolic role in myths and fairy tales. Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a placid lake, while the evil stepmom asked her mirror to charm her with the notorious sentence “Mirror, mirror on the wall…” Scientifically, mirrors reflect light, but the reason for our fascination with the emblem of the mirror is that it not only reflects the recognizable world around us; it also invites us to fall in love with an alternative reality or parallel world. The mirrored world is represented on a flat surface and is joking in its honesty. The installation is literally an experience that explores the complexity of our distorted self-image”. - Oliver Sundqvist, 2020
Eighteen and V1 Gallery have collaborated with Oliver Sundqvist (born 1991) and his partner in art Frederik Nystrup-Larsen (born 1992) for the past two years. In 2019 they created the poetic exhibition Soft Boxing at Eighteen, a pop-up conceptual sculptural supermarket Off Licence Cash Only in central Copenhagen during CHART Art Fair, and a magnificent giant blanket fort for Roskilde Festival, outside Copenhagen, in collaboration with Tuborg, the architects Spacon & X and the galleries. The talented, enterprising duo has a unique approach to their process, craft and artwork, an almost DIY anarchist flatline philosophy, where formal hierarchies only have value if transgressed. Sundqvist completed his MA at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design, Copenhagen, in June. Due to Covid-19, his degree show was cancelled, and it is now our pleasure to present it at Eighteen.
