FREE PORT
15 SEPTEMBER–9 DECEMBER 2001

Janine Antoni, John Bock, Cosima von Bonin, Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky
Curator: Richard Julin

The exhibition uses the history of the Stockholm Free Port as its point of departure. The artists have produced new works in relation to the port and to Magasin 3 as an historic building. All members of this unique constellation of artists work in a performance-related way with installations

Janine Antoni, born in Freeport, Bahamas in 1964, lives and works in New York City. Antoni regards her work as an ongoing process not unlike the daily chores which, to a great extent, constitute our lives. Her work aims at translating these chores into sculptural processes, in which she examines the possibilities of the body to produce meaning. Janine Antoni has had solo exhibitions at the Whitney Museum and Luhring Augustine Gallery in New York, and at Anthony d'Offay Gallery in London. She has also exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and at the Venice, Istanbul, and Johannesburg biennials. For the exhibition Free Port Janine Antoni has created a work that ties the spaces of Magasin 3 to a boat in the water outside of the Konsthall

John Bock, born in Gribbohm, Germany in 1965, lives and works in Berlin. Bock's 'actions', or lectures', as he sometimes calls them are made in installations he creates with simple forms of architecture and objects. The action, which is videotaped, takes place in the installations he creates. After the action the video is incorporated into the installation. John Bock has produced actions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Kunsthalle Basel, Hellenistic Art Galleries Association in Athens, and at the Venice Biennale. In the exhibition Free Port an installation by John Bock is shown that is based on a lecture made in the Free Port and inside of Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall.

Cosima von Bonin, born in Mombasa, Kenya in 1962, lives and works in Cologne. It is not easy to categorize her works either stylistically or thematically. Cosima von Bonin works broadly with sculpture, photography, installations, film and performances, often in collaboration with other artists. She runs a record label and works as a DJ. Cosima von Bonin has exhibited at Museum Fridericianum in Kassel, American Fine Arts, P.S.1, and Andrea Rosen Gallery in New York, Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark. In the exhibition Free Port Cosima von Bonin shows an installation revolving around the themes of seafaring and myths about seamen.

Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky, born in Washington D.C. in 1970, lives and works in New York City. Paul D. Miller is an artist, writer and musician. As an artist he has exhibited at the Whitney Biennial, the Venice Biennale for Architecture, Ludwig Museum in Cologne, Kunsthalle Vienna, and the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. He has released numerous records and has collaborated with, among others, Iannis Xenakis, Kool Keith a.k.a. Doctor Octagon, Killa Priest of Wu-Tang Clan, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, and Yoko Ono. For the exhibition Free Port Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky has created two new works based on sound samples he has collected in the Free Port of Stockholm.

CONTENTS:

Prologue by David Neuman, director Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall
Free Port by Richard Julin, curator Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall
Porto Franco by Jesper Meijling, freelance producer and architect
CD multi media track: "Another Forensic Charade", by Paul D. Miller a.k.a DJ Spooky.
Exhibition catalogue no 24. ISBN 91-972986-8-9
76 pages, color, illustrated incl. archival pictures, insert and CD. Soft cover. Texts in Swedish/English. Published 2001 by Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall.
Price: 200 SEK (approx. 21 EUR)

Free Port by Richard Julin

WHEN STOCKHOLM'S FREE PORT was is inaugurated on the 27th of September 1926 a filmmaker was present. In the film that was made, one can see the inauguration ceremony with king Gustav V on a throne dressed in spruce twigs. A large crowd had come to the harbour to be present for the ceremony. There were speeches and medals that were awarded to the harbours initiator, merchant John Josephson as well as to the building's foremen. Debate as to build a free trade harbor in Stockholm or not had been going on for years. When the harbor finally became a reality and opened, it constituted a major event for the city. The throne used during the ceremony was designed by the architect Åke Tengelin, who also designed warehouses [magasin] 1, 2, and 3. Magasin 3 was designed in 1925. The Free Port was Stockholm's free trade zone for 60 years.

Until 1986, the area was gated and there were customs depots at the entrances and exits. It was a location close to the city that had been built exclusively for receiving, warehousing, and transporting goods.

In the film, you can see how new, exotic products arrive by ship from all over the world. The dockworkers carry sacks of coffee beans from Central America, crates of apples from Australia, bananas from Jamaica, and casks of Madeira wine. There were also car parts that were to be assembled into cars at the Ford factory designed by Uno Åhrén in 1930. The film shows a great deal of activity in the harbor. There are numerous workers, steamships with streamers, trains in motion, and many trucks. The dock workers loading and unloading the freight all have nicknames they acquired at some point and carried with them ever since: All Our Days, Kolumbus, Bimbo, Seven Books, Castro, Eternity, Greta Garbo, Crybaby, Bla Bla, The Cultural Minister, The Moonlight Murderer, Rembrandt, Scotland Yard, Sputnik, The Sceptic, and Manic. A part of the area, Lindarängen, presently the container harbor, became Sweden's first horse racetrack in 1894. The rings of the various lanes are still visible in aerial photographs taken during the Free Port's first year. During the Stockholm Olympics of 1912, all the equestrian events were held there. Later, the area was made into an international airport. Amphibian and seaplanes flew from there to Stettin, Visby, and Helsinki, among other destinations. The "Flight Hotel" was located adjacent to the small airport and had a restaurant. In addition to travelers, the hotel also had some long-term guests who paid 75 SEK a month. The only remnant of the airport today is Sven Markelius's hangar built in 1929, now used as a storage space. Some of the ships arriving at the harbor brought plant seeds from other countries along with their cargoes. As a result, there are certain plants in the harbour area that are not found anywhere else in Sweden. An example is "Sisymbrium orientale", the oriental hedge mustard.

(Excerpt from the catalogue text "Free Port" by Richard Julin, curator Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall.)

PAUL D. MILLER a.k.a. DJ SPOOKY THAT SUBLIMINAL KID
"Another Forensic Charade", 200. Soundinstallation, 8 min 56 sec loop
"Another Forensic Charade", 2001. Videoinstallation with sound, 20 min loop

JOHN BOCK
"Im AtomeiterzinsKonflikt mit einer EierstockCapitalSaint" 2001
Lecture at Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall on September 13, 2001. Installation with various materials, two DVD players and two projectors.

COSIMA von BONIN
"Too quick for binoculars", 2001
Oak, pine, plywood, acrylic enamel, shellac, foam material, cotton, loden, wool, polyester, steel, cast stone, rubber, b/w photographs (taken from Yvonne Rainer, Works 1961-73, the Nova Scotia Series-Source Materials of the Contemporary Arts, Halifax/NewYork 1974.
Photograph on the left: Frederic, Doug, Marylin in the NORTHEAST PASSING, photograph on the right: PARTS OF SOME SEXTETS AT THE WADSWORTH)

"Item", 2001
Fiber-glass strengthened plastic, plywood, dual-component acrylic enamel, aluminium, shellac, cotton, silk, polyester, linen, 1100 cm x 120 cm x 128 cm

"Schatten werfen keine Schatten", 2001
Oak, pine, acrylic enamel, foam material, cotton. 293 cm x 129 cm x 234 cm

"Und wir wissen ganz bestimmt, dass wir beide schatten sind", 2001
Oak, pine, acrylic enamel, foam material, cotton, 124 cm x 110 cm x 215 cm

JANINE ANTONI
"Moor", 2001
Rope made of materials from fiends and family of the artist, rescue boat, chain, anchor.
For information about the materials, see the catalogue Freeport and the artist book "Moor" published by Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall and SITE Santa Fe.

John Bock's work for the exhibition "Im AtomeiterzinsKonflikt mit einer EierstockCapitalSaint", 2001 was a lecture and an installation at Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall. The lecture took place on September 13, 2001.

For the exhibition Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky created two new works based on sound samples collected in the Free Port.
For the opening night September 13, 2001, Miller also made a performance with this material.

Listen here to the performace based on "Another Forensic Charade", 2001 or or download mp3 (left mouse-click and save to computer).