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John Bock
Skipholt, 2005

Still: David Schultz | Kling & Bang Gallery, Reykjavik, 2005

John Bock

Collection

Atopia

Single-channel video installation, color, sound
54 min 55 sec

“The story of Skipholt is very simple”, says John Bock, “I set off... and with the aid of certain objects I roam through ICEland... and die at the end. I should better say: I get lost in an ice storm, which does not automatically mean to die”. But – and here he quoted prosaically the economist John Maynard Keynes - “in the long run, we’re all dead.” Skipholt – which means “sheep hill” in English and is also the name of the street where the artist stayed in Reykjavik – is a kaleidoscopic expedition through the Icelandic landscape. Bock, who takes the role of the highly archetypal adventurer figure, sets off to explore the island with an eclectic assortment of equipment. He climbs snow-capped hills, falls and hurts himself several times, struggles to survive, gets lost in an ice storm, and eventually dies. During his wondrous voyages through the Icelandic landscape, Bock operates a set of self-made instruments, discovers shiny blinking treasures which, his character believes, interest the scientific world in future years. Here, the film incorporates the classic ideals of legendary explorers and adventure films – challenge, sacrifice, resilience, hope, and the fear of shipwreck and death – which develop into a balancing act between scientific seriousness, madness and slapstick, all of which Bock performs while operating his enigmatic instruments. Bock’s film draws inspiration from the natural landscape of Iceland, revealing his long held fascination for the far north.

*1965 in Schenefeld, Germany I Living and working in Berlin, Germany

Artist's website

http://www.johnbock.de

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