Annika Ström

is a Swedish artist born 9th of November 1964 in Helsingborg. She is currently living in London & Hove in UK.

She works mainly with film, performance and text works. Her work addresses subjective states of crisis and insecurity in songs, videos and text pieces displaying self-reflective phrases like Excuse me I am sorry, Everything in this show can be used against me, I am a better artist than I deserve. In her films Ström draws upon details of everyday life and seemingly insignificant experiences usually accompanied by her own low-fi synth-pop soundtracks. She often works with members of her family which creates emotive and intimate situations. Her films often explores the subjects of failure, loss and disappearance. Her textworks consist of phrases, normally no more than a few words, transcribed onto sheets of paper or, onto a wall. Her videos, songs and textworks are structured around the poetic transfiguration of the ordinary.

Studies in Copenhagen

Ström studied at Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Copenhagen, 91-97. During her second year [1993], she moved to Berlin and commuted to school. She remained in Berlin until she moved to UK 2005.

First Performance work

Ström's first performance took place in 1995 with Anna Ström & Annika Ström at the Rupert Goldsworthy gallery space in Prenzlauerberg in Berlin. Her mother Anna was invited to work in the gallery, making portraits of her daughter over three days, which her mother then sold. Anna had not made a drawing for 43 years. Since the appearance of Anna Ström in her very first public work, Anna Ström has appeared in many of her films. In Collector (5 min 98) Anna shows her collection of Annika's early art school nude studies, as if they were old masterpieces. In 2008 Anna Ström developed severe Alzheimers which Ström depicted in I can hardly recognize myself (12 min 08), and the super8 films; Crystal Brain (1 min 10) and Sunshine Head (1 min 10).

Film and Soundtrack

In 1995 Ström did her first long-form video, Windowpillow- a Berlin habit (13 min 95/97), about the East Berliner practice of leaning out of their windows, while resting their arms on pillows. The work included both film and pillows and was first shown at Saga Basement, an artist's run space. Having just graduated, this film contributed to her having her first solo show at Casey Kaplan gallery in New York 1997. From 1995 Ström began to do her own film soundtracks. Using only a simple keyboard she scored for, Summer 96, The Artist Live, The Artist musical, Ten New Love Songs, Six Songs For A Time Like This and 16 Minutes. In many of these films she acts out different characters, best known perhaps is Swedish Traveller (3 min 95) and performing the art songs in Artist Musical (13 min 96). Ström has made over 35 films. In 2013 she directed the short film “The Swede” (13 min 13) featuring Gunnel Lindblom and Carina Westling.

Performing the Soundtrack

With these films she began to perform her soundtracks live and as the songs were short so were the concerts, and many missed the concerts, this resulted in the film The Missed Concert (4:30 min 04). The Missed Concert is part of what the artist calls her “Absent Films” including, After Film Trailer (3:30 min 08) and Been in Video (2min 03), exploring the subjects of failure and disappearance. She has published three vinyl records relating to the soundtrack to the films Summer96 (3 min 96), The Artist Live (13 min 97) and Ten New Love Songs (22 min 99).

Performance work

In 2010 she made Ten Embarrassed Men at the London Frieze art fair where ten identically dressed men walked around together at the fair looking embarrassed. A comment to that so few works made by women, are represented at the commercial art fairs. This work gained much press attention worldwide. The work was followed by a series of other performances such as The Upset Man 2010, The Inept Five 2011, and the ongoing work of Seven Women Standing in the Way 2011-, where seven women in their 60s gently block the entrance of an art space, by talking, drinking and being oblivious to other visitor's attempts to enter the space. The performance work Look the other way at Winchester Great Hall and Shanty Clash' were 2013 commissioned by artSouth collaboration.

Text work

Since 2000 Ström has also worked extensively with text phrases, painted on both paper and canvas, of which many are in private and public collections. 2014 the Swedish Art Agency commissioned her to do 10 texts works for the new build extension of LUX, the Humanities Department at Lund University. On the roof of the building a 10 meter long text in metal it will say; "men vänta nu". (Direct English translation is; "but wait now " meaning, “hold on”). The work which is permanent, is completed 28th of August 2014.

Teaching

Ström held a part time professorship at the The Academy of Fine Art Oslo 2009-2010. There she created several workshops with titles such as Mamma or Pappa, How to Change the Situation by Statistical Information! A workshop about the representation of women artist at public museums. The statistics were then read by Ströms father in the film, Ragnar Ström Reading Statistics in his Garden 2009 (10 min). In the film, Ragnar, a former history teacher is reading statistics relating to his daughter profession in a dry, accusing manner. Another workshop Excuse me, I have to go the rest room, took place in public toilets around Oslo, as spaces for displaying art.

Public Collections

Her work is in international collections such as Moderna Museet, Stockholm. Malmö Art Museum Malmö. Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen. NBK, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin. Wiener Secession, Vienna. Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade. Migros Museum Zürich. Le CNAP, National Center of Visual Arts, France. CCAC, Centro de Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo, Seville. Sammlung Verbund, Vienna. Palais de Tokyo, Paris. Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Göteborg, Sweden

Gallery representation

Ström has been worked with numerous commercial galleries. Solo exhibitions were at Casey Kaplan, NY 1997, 1998, 2003, Galleri Charlotte Lund; Stockholm 2002, 2005, 2010, Gerhardsen Gerner, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012 Galleri Drantmann, Brussels 2003, Mary Goldman gallery LA 2001, 2004 and Lautom gallery, Oslo 2008.