We. They. There.
Video- and sound installation. Ongoing project, initiated in 2016.
We. They. There. revolves around what is out-of-sync. The narrative work with the disruptive in societies, communities, families and identities. Diagonals that create disorientation, opening a space where we can rethink intersubjectivity, society and ontology. The fragmented storyline is driven by characters in limbo positions. They act as uniforms: a pathway between an empty set and a category. Their conversations are distant, but drives the disruptive forward. We. They. There. work on several planes simultaneously: in dishwashing, we find ontological conditions, in conversations, intersubjectivity is illuminated, and the act of waiting branches into several tales about the common condition.
We. They. There. was constructed as an episodic series, initiated as an ongoing project in 2016. So far, the series consists of three episodes: We were waiting for a train, They built the widened coral reef and There is a gun in the exoskeleton of the car. Each episode is a standalone piece, but together they form a larger narrative mosaic, designed to be remixed and recontextualized for each exhibition.
The entire series is filmed in a green screen room, mixed with hybrid animation techniques. We find ourselves in an unnamed compound with a group of co-workers engaged in conversations. They seem strangely distanced from each other, even though they are politely trying to converse. There is something unsaid in the conversations, something which has already happened and something which is still about to happen. A disaster lurks on the horizon, as the-coworkers are trying to perform their routines as if nothing is going to happen.
"The video consists of fragmented hints of narratives that constantly interrupt one another, all suggesting a temporal sequence which is underscored by the title. But the constant gaps in the narration and the challenge of piecing the elements together send us back and forth in time and even between different time sequences. Quite central is the suggestion of a dramatic event that took place while "we were waiting for a train" - but we never arrive at the crucial moment. That kind of objective time - the exact event - sends us back to the Greek stone-throwing, but our subjective perception of time is constantly dislocated."
- Jens Erdman Rasmussen, curator and writer
"The tent poles are torn up, and it is not easy to find either a foothold or a point of view in Tholander's film work. With references to both orchestras, kitchens and restaurants, we are led on an assembly line from scenario to scenario. The point is simply that, in the usual sense, we are getting nowhere. There is not a harmonious narrative, but neither is the avant-garde's obvious onslaught on the old stories. Nothing really happens other than that our trust in frames and formats is slowly eroded. You can obviously point to leading figures such as American Ian Chang and British Ed Atkins. The images are perfect, as technology now makes possible, but it is in the coexistence of speech and writing that Tholander's work comes across as eerie and probably as precise in the description of our time.
Tholander's work works, and this is praise, in its constant drift between presence and indeterminate distance. Flesh and blood is not really relevant to talk about, and that is precisely the point. And one senses a condition. It's as if, between time-lapses, commercial jingles and ornaments that only the digital world can produce, we're on our way, but nowhere really. There are, you understand, delays on the road, links are delayed, connections as well and something is interrupted. It's safe to say."
- Statement by Mai Misfeldt, Claus Carstensen & Anders Kold. Written justification for awarding the 15 June Foundation's Honorary Award in 2019.
Film preview (shortened version, mixed for stereo preview):
Credits:
Script, animation and composition:
Mark Tholander
Voices:
Tamara Farris (The proprietor)
Kevin J. Bond (The pianist)
Sarah Leeanne Spencer (The guest)
Steve King (The waitor)
Aundrea Sayrie (The agent)
Joe Wilson Kolb (The wardrobe employee)
Jay Maksenuk (Dishwasher 1)
Trevor Forest (Dishwasher 2)
Filming of characters/suits, chromakey and rotoscoping:
Mark Tholander
CGI, car chase scenes:
Mikkel Battefeld
Assisting CGI and animation, car chase scenes:
Mark Tholander
CGI, kitchen and restaurant scenes:
Lars Hemmingsen Nørgaard
Elisabet Hau
Vector animation, tiger:
Sophia Ioannou Gjerding
Hand-drawn animation, tiger:
Mark Tholander
Piano:
Johan Feierskov
Anastasia Nastya Bragina
Mark Tholander
Drums:
Søren Høi
Victor A. Carracedo
Bernardo Yacono
Bass:
Ailén Antú
Lole Dovo
Mitch Cockman
Damjan Kapor
Guitar:
Zek Starosky
David Tobias Bonde Jensen
Saxophone:
Jon Sensmeier
Trumpet:
Matt Giella
Mihai Sorohan
Trombone:
Rainers Vestmanis
Miks Jukumsons-Jukumnieks
Victor Fuenmayor
English horn:
Jennifer Stucki
Synthesizer:
Mark Tholander
Mixing and mastering:
Johan Feierskov
William Kudahl
Tafadzwa Chingono
Paulo Germano
Installation view at This Is Not a Church, Seoul, South Korea.
Installation view at This Is Not a Church, Seoul, South Korea.
We. They. There. was presented at Post Territory Ujeongguk (Seoul, South Korea) in 2024, together with Soufiane Adel, Jisoo Chung, Tore Hallas, Minki Hong, Linda Lamignan, Maria Meinild, Mooni Perry, Luna Scales, Maximilian Schmoetzer and Ji Hye Yeom.