Consider to be Allies

The audience is invited to engage with a large textile piece, transforming it into a dynamic spatial object. This object shifts between forms, resembling an alien vessel, a portal, or a black hole. Throughout the performance, the artists assume the roles of visitors from a parallel reality, guiding the audience in activating the “mothership.” Together, they are led through a meditative narrative that involves creating shapes and chanting collectively, initiating a fictional journey through time and space. COPY ROOM, Group show at Ateliers Du Vent (FR) 2024 Supported by The Danish Arts Foundation and the Ny Carlsberg Foundation. Documentation by Catherine Duverger

Hunter Gatherers invites seven artists to offer different perspectives on humans as herd animals, in a modern world characterized by loneliness and longing for connection with the surrounding world. Based on the experience of the total solar eclipse in 2017 and 2024, Considered to be Allies, have created a new video work and invited 5 other artists to a joint dialogue centered on collectivity and interconnectedness. Humans as herd animals are central to the exhibition, which invites collective reflection through performances, workshops and in the experience of the exhibition's individual works. Participating artists: Coley Mixan (US), Nicky Ulrich-Sparre (DK), Ida Schrader (DK), Maria Lepistö (SE), Nickie Sigurdsson (DK) and the artist duo Considered to be Allies: Mie Frederikke Fischer (DK) and Margaux Parillaud (FR). Hunters and Gatherers — Group Show at Udstillingsstedet Sydhavn Station, Copenhagen, 2024 Kindly supported by The Danish Arts Foundation, Rådet for Visuel Kunst and Ny Carlsberg foundationt. Posters and billboard sponsored by Aage og Johanne Louise-Hansen fonden Documentation by Brian Kure

The solar eclipse, once interpreted as an ominous disruption of nature's rhythm, is now a predictable event and a pop-cultural spectacle complete with accompanying merchandise and memorabilia. In a time marked by ideological polarization and a growing need to feel connected to the world, the work explores nature’s unifying power, focusing on diverse groups that vary significantly in age, religion, and political orientation. Across these groups, the films illustrate how the artificial and human-made influence our relationship with nature. Sounds and lights from urban environments seep into the natural experience, and pop-cultural references are used as a shared frame of understanding. The artificial is employed to describe the natural; for instance, the sun’s rays are compared to film spotlights. Much like Plato’s famous cave allegory, the onlooker is compelled to question whether their experience is authentic or staged. Through an artistic approach, the project links eclipse to eclipse via a performative script that blends documentary with staged elements. The script draws on observations from previous eclipses and is directed, performed, and filmed live amidst the crowds at the event. The result is an echo, or a kind of “hesitation,” between the authenticity of the moment and the cyclical, predictable, and recreated nature of the phenomenon. Hunters and Gatherers — Group Show at Udstillingsstedet Sydhavn Station, Copenhagen, 2024 COPY ROOM, Group show at Ateliers Du Vent (FR) 2024 Supported by The Danish Arts Foundation and the Ny Carlsberg Foundation. Documentation: Brian Kure and Catherine Duverger

Go in, you will figure it out is a publication investigating holes as a physical and mental portal between realities. The hole serves both as a metaphor for presence in “the moment” or presents an opening to endless possibilities and “what if’s”. The book remixes theories of metaphysics and modal realism with pop cultural plot holes, familiar objects and well.. the deep existential voids of everyday life. As a reader, you are invited to make your way through the book, as a “choose your own adventure” experience, jumping from page to page, navigating its pitfalls and plot holes. Or you may choose to read the book from beginning to end - as linear. ISBN: 978-87-974599-2-8 AFT-3, 100 pages, 230x160 mm, Edition of 200 handbound, 5 color riso print Silkscreen cover, 2023 Published by Adagio for Things and Overgaden. Publication release, exhibition and interactive reading at Overgaden, Copenhagen (DK), 2023 Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation and Københavns Kommunes billedkunstråd. Documentation by Brian Kure

A performance that redirected past-present-future into loopy currents and tides and asked us to reflect on our understanding of manmade masses and the waters surrounding them. The performance was a guided meditation remixing poor special effects with an inflated narrative, deflated movements, familiar pop and an adapted input from the public. Building on the data gained through the Department of Reflection's first Fieldwork tour in Miami this performance builds and adapts to the specific local ecology and current discourse on man made masses in Copenhagen - where Lynetteholm is slowly becoming a reality. Misael Soto joins us digitally and shares the knowledge and experience they have from the unsustainable man made venetian islands in Miami. Art Hub BarX, Copenhagen (DK) 2022 Documentation: Bennett Van Hoff and Christian Brems

Venetian Islands - Boat & Trolly Tours with Considered to be Allies Including Publicly Submitted Input. Department of Reflection April 9, 2022 2-6pm (tours every 30 minutes) Maurice Gibb Park, Miami Beach For the Department of Reflection's first Fieldwork: Tour we've invited expert outsiders Considered to be Allies to Miami, specifically Miami Beach's Venetian Islands, and asked them to help us investigate the famed millionaire mounds and surrounding waters, including Isola di Lolando, the Venetian Island that never was. Via mirrored tours happening simultaneously, one on a trolley bus and another on a small boat, they will guide participating residents in a hands-on presentation of their findings, including public input collected by DoR. Their Mission: 1. To help us distinguish the past from the present, the present from the future, and the future from the past. 2. To further our understanding of the Venetian Islands as wholly man-made land masses in relation to other man-made things. 3. To remind us of the strengths (and weaknesses) inherent in our hyper-local perspectives. 4. To find the truth, the lies, the truth in lies, and the lies in truths. 5. To facilitate reflection. How You Can Help: 1. Answer the open call for public input (We sincerely thank all those who submitted entries!) 2. Take the tour(s) 3. Turn in your amended script before leaving Reflection Tours, commissioned by the Department of Reflection, Miami Beach (FL), March 2022 This program was made possible with support from the City of Miami Beach and the Danish Arts Foundation. Documentation: Misael Soto and Juan Luis Matos

Based on the alter egos we have developed throughout our collaboration, we’ve illustrated a shared universe and the many worlds they navigate. Alongside the characters are recurring motifs of circles, holes, and cups, which subtly resist the linear nature of the comic strip. The piece is also a material experiment in the possibilities and limitations of collaboration. Can two people truly collaborate on drawing? Is it possible to entirely erase individual stylistic traces? Udstillingsstedet Sydhavn Station, Copenhagen (DK), 2023, Juxtapose Art fair, Godsbanerne Aarhus (DK), 2023

A live therapy session with couples therapist Jeannette Øbro The session invited the audience to listen in on a therapy session where Consider to be Allies evaluated the collaborative process leading up to the installation work String therapy. As the session evolves, the artist duo starts pulling wooly threads from their belly buttons. By showing the session publicly we also hope to make couples therapy and relational work more approachable for those on the cusp. Rudolph Tegners Museum og samling, Dronningmølle (DK), 2022 Kindly supported by the Danish Arts Foundation Documentation, Line Gry Hørup

In String Therapy you join a therapy session between three characters placed in a rotating 3d animated room. As the conversation progresses, the three characters spin a physical thread that strengthens the connection between the three of them and the viewer. The dialogue in the film is developed after real life sessions with a couples therapist and then adapted to its current form. String Therapies overarching theme is relationships—the networks we build and the connections we forge. At the same time, it acknowledges the existential challenges of creating and maintaining transformative bonds. In the exhibition, the hyper-personal meets the hyperbolic in a visually dissonant collision between analog DIY special effects and the digital, virtual world of 3D. These two expressions mirror one another, becoming mutually representative as they morph, transform, and evolve. The works weave together strands from mythology, scientific string theory and computer programming. The visual contrasts make us conscious of the fleeting nature of both the human body and programmable technology, while highlighting their shared structures and interdependence. The work has been shown both within a larger installation and screened as an independent videowork. Rudolph Tegners Museum og samling, Dronningmølle (DK), Summer 2022, Udstillingsstedet Sydhavn Station, Copenhagen (DK), January 2023, Screening of String Therapy at CPH:DOX 2023, Copenhagen, (DK), march 2023 Screening of String Therapy at Onion City Film Festival, Chicago (US), April 2023 Kindly supported by the Danish arts foundation and Københavns kommunes billedkunstråd. Documentation by Rine Rodin

It starts with a spin. It starts with a turn. And when you watch it spin, it comes full circle. Why don’t you watch it? You have to watch it! The Yes and No of all things. Life’s movement. The clash, you - me and it. Is it a threesome? Nature reveals itself to itself. Another hole is filled and the magic hour is compared to a fingernail clipping. This body of work is inspired by the collective experience of grand natural phenomena. On one side there is the euphoria of being present in the moment, bearing witness to the heartbeat of the universe. On the flipside, we face global challenges such as climate change and the covid pandemic. Events that have profoundly shifted our collective consciousness. Confronting nature’s cycles, both grand and small, evokes feelings of euphoric joy alongside sorrow and helplessness—the yes and no of all things. Perhaps, within the space of transformation, we can initiate a new spin in the cycle. In the main exhibition space, visitors encounter a video installation with large and small sculptural elements. The room, softly lit, includes a video projection of a 3D animated game of "spin the bottle," accompanied by a narrative soundscape played through speakers. A large round wall with two circular holes, just big enough to crawl through is also part of the installation. This element is activated in a performance during the exhibition. In the smaller room, visitors can view the video piece Décalage, which documents the collective euphoria during the 2017 solar eclipse - a central departure point of the exhibition. Outside the exhibition space itself, a long snake weaves through the poster holders in the entrance hall. In mythology, the snake symbolizes time, both linear and cyclical, and is also tied to the legend of the solar eclipse, where the snake swallows the sun, plunging the world into darkness. In this work, the snake becomes part of the fabric’s texture, winding through foreground and background, serving as a kind of calendar that maps the sun and planets' influence on our lives. Udstillingsstedet Sydhavn station, Copenhagen (DK), 2021 Kindly supported by the Danish arts foundation and Københavns Kommune Documentation: Bennett Van Hoff

The audience is invited to participate in a game of spin the bottle. The performance starts by spinning the first bottle, this bottle will point to another bottle. The text on the bottle prompts the two performers to reenact various pop cultural scenes of characters stuck in holes, passing through doors or portals, often by chance the same scene is reenacted several times. For the exhibition “The Yes and No of All Things” at Udstillingsstedet Sydhavn Station. The performers would perform the reenactments within the holes of a big wheel resulting in a goofy embodiment of yin and yang in chaotic motion. as part of the performance they would Pass through the holes and move the rolling wall around the space with the collaborative force of their bodies. In later versions, the rolling wall has also been replaced with site specific objects and spaces such as an automatic garage door, a car window or a large trash can. Udstillingsstedet Sydhavn station, Copenhagen (DK), August 2021 Gallery Dimensions Variable, Miami (US), March 2022 Masnedø Sommerudstilling, Vordingborg (DK) Summer 2022 Kindly supported by the Danish arts foundation and Københavns Kommune

Far får får? Nej får får ikke får får får lam / Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool? Yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full One for the master, one for the dame One for the little boy who lives down the lane Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool? Yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full Kill the Curator, Group show, Oslo Kunsthall, Oslo (NO), 2021. Sommerudstillingen, Masnedø Fort, Vordingborg (DK), 2022 Udstillingsstedet Sydhavn Station, Copenhagen (DK), 2023

The title LOL Memory, which at first glance seem to refer to the popular internet abbreviation, is in fact a reference to the group of little old ladies, who were recruited by Nasa to weave the memory module that led to the first moon landing. The Video Installation combines original and found footage, forming a chaotic timeline that draws threads from early technologies that today create a web around our continued social possibilities and technological progress. Kill the Curator, Group show at Oslo Kunsthall (NO), April 2021 Sommerudstillingen Masnedø Fort, Vordingborg (DK) 2021 Kunstnernes efterårsudstilling, KE21 prize recipient, Den Frie, Copenhagen (DK), 2021. Kindly supported by Vordingborg Kunstråd and the Danish artfund.

When asked to decide “who wore it better”. Do we collectively sew a stitch in a dress that does not fit for any of us?. Imitating a retail environment, the installation sets up a mirroring game, where the visitor is asked to reflect upon the balance between individual and collective, in the construction of the “fitting room”. The space is activated in the performance, where two women, portrayed as a blonde and a brunette, pass dresses and jewelry between them in acts of shifting kindness and maleficence. The chaos they leave behind becomes part of the installation. Deborah Bowmann Gallery, Bruxelles (BE), 2019 Documentation by Victor Delestre and Amaury Daurel

A cheeky appropriation of the poster from the Cult series X-files. Made in connection with the performance work A Woman and Her Colleague. Made in collaboration with KLD Repro and Wilfred Wagner Release event, KLD Repro, Copenhagen (DK), 2022 Sommerudstillingen Masnedø fort, Vordingborg (DK), 2022

If you’re lost, you can look and you will find me Time after time If you fall, I will catch you, I will be waiting Time after time time after... TIME is glowing in the Dark like a potentially extraterrestrial fungi infesting the western broadleaf and mixed forests. The trees are showing signs of lost time. The rings that used to indicate the past year are disappearing making room for a weird growth of brown boils on a surface of spongy skin. Time is glowing in the dark, like the woman and her colleague that has arrived to investigate and retrieve the circle, the passing and the power of two. There is much to be learned from the power of two, there is much to be learned from the power of two. Say it once, say it twice, count the clock-wise, pregnancy is nice! A woman and her colleague arrive from another dimension to investigate an alien fungus infesting the local ecology. From here an absurd narrative evolves, touching on collaboration, epidemics and conspiracy theories, across time and space. Kolonien (København DK) 2019 Setu festival Rennes (FR) 2019 Overgaden, performance festival Resonance and Wonder, København (DK) 2021 Revue Phylactère, Performance event, CAC Chanot, Clamart (FR) June 2021 Kindly supported by The danish arts foundation Documentation by Thomas Portier, Clément Harpillard and Bennett Van Hoff

“Your presence is requested at the Everyman Feast and Tournament. You and Everyman are summoned to a Feast and Tournament guaranteed to satisfy all the senses. Come fill your belly, quench your thirst, and have yourself entertained as the stage is set for an evening of heroic jousts in numerous disciplines. Let yourself journey to another time as the troubadour whisks you away on a musical voyage with a voice so smooth your challenged digestion will mirror it. Further immerse yourself with the purchase of transformative one-of-a-kind wares offered at the gate house. These proceedings promise a unique and thrilling performance blurring the boundaries between mundane and spectacular.” Knight from within: Mie Frederikke Fischer Christensen Knight from without: Margaux Parillaud Squire: Lauren Steinberg Squirrel: Maryam Faridani Troubadours: Bennett Van Hoff, Skye Fort and Kellie Wyatt Exhibition text: Kristi Mcguire (text link) Links Hall, Chicago (IL), 2018 Defibrillator gallery of performance art, Chicago (IL), 2018

This project is a series of performative films that trace a line from the past to the current political landscape, examining the transition from feudalism to capitalism. The films explore and challenge notions of reenactment, historical accuracy, and the complexities of celebrating, glamorizing, or erasing past narratives. By queering time, the project moves beyond the westernized binaries of the Old World and New World, proposing an alternate other World. The films can be shown as a two channel installation where they exist together in one single edit or they can be viewed as a series of three films. The initial installation was accompanied by a live performance interacting with the two channel video installation. The films are all shot on location in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan. Featuring: Coley Mixan, Hannah Patterson, Nanna Rosenfeldt, Angeliki Chaido Tsoli, Lauren Steinberg and Marie Ségolene, Maryam Faridani, Marcella E. Torres, Li Ming Hu and Kellie Wyatt. Installation, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, MFA thesis exhibition, Sullivan Galleries, Chicago (IL), 2018 Screening of “Under Siege”. Image 00:03 Biannual Film festival, Lithium Gallery, Chicago (US) 2018 Screening, Before Sunrise X Galerie Quinconce at Cinéma La Cane, Mont-Fort-sur-Meu (FR), 2020 Screening of “Under Siege” Nuit blanche at la MABA in Nogent Sur Marne (FR), 2022

We were invited to develop a new version of this Dance Construction, which Simone Forti once described as a “domestic drama.” Forti began creating her “Dance Constructions” in 1960, combining ordinary movements—walking, sliding, and climbing—with everyday objects like ropes and plywoo boards. In the original version of Seesaw, Yvonne Rainer and Robert Morris balanced their bodies as they moved up and down a long plank. Given freedom to reinterpret Seesaw, we focused on its core dynamics of reciprocity and balance, exploring how the object invites any duo to confront and navigate these themes. The performance blends choreographed and improvised movements with gestures from earlier iterations, contributing to a layered archive of Seesaw. Shown as part of Simone Forti’s solo show Here It Comes at Vleeshal Center for Contemporary Art in Middelburg, January–April, 2016

This playful sound installation subverts the classic jewelry store window display, offering a critical lens on the commercialization of romance in consumer and pop culture. Jewelry, often marketed as symbols of love, conceals a historic association with ownership as well as class and gender roles. A looped sound piece accompanies the exhibition, featuring Marilyn Monroe’s sequence of “No no nos” from her performance in Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend. In jewelry stores, podiums and displays for merchandise often resemble fragmented body parts. By emphasizing and fetichising on these forms, the installation highlights the tension between romance and violence. Riso printed text by Joshua Roginsky Zoete Broodjes, Amsterdam (NL), 2016. Amsterdam artweek, Amsterdam (NL) 2016.

…I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs Clowns to the left of me Jokers to the right Here I am, stuck in the middle with you Yes, I’m stuck in the middle with you A wall divides an indoor gallery space from an outdoor area. The wall features a round hole, about hip-width, positioned too high for easy climbing. One performer stands inside the gallery, while the other is outside. A lo-fi cover version of Steeler Wheeler’s “Stuck in the Middle with You” begins to play. The performers meet at the hole. They assist each other, with one climbing through the hole as the other helps from the opposite side. By the end of the song, they have traded places—one now inside, the other outside. The process repeats every time the song plays, continuing for approximately three hours. The Bookstore space, Amsterdam (NL), 2016

Well Now, it Looks as if You are Armed for Battle is a performance and installation where two performers portray violently competing women in a feminized domestic setting. The work stems from a research into clichés of female confrontation in film and popular culture, often portraying blondes and brunettes as aggressive rivals clashing within otherwise controlled domestic spaces. A vocabulary of the catfight was developed for the piece, including actions like scratching, hair-pulling, and vase-throwing. These acts were transformed into a choreography that relies on the trust and collaboration between the performers as they navigate the space together. The installation incorporates theatrical stunts and objects like sugar-glass vases, allowing viewers to experience it as two distinct environments—before and after being activated by the performance. Rietveld Academie Graduation Show, Amsterdam (NL), spring 2015 Castrum Peregrini, Selected - Best of Graduates group show, Amsterdam (NL), fall 2015 Charlottenborg Kunsthal Spring exhibition, Copenhagen (DK) Spring 2016 Kindly supported by de Berlagde Fund Documentation: Omri Bigetz and Florian Joahn

Prologue marked the beginning of our collaboration and laid the foundation for our installation and performance, Well Now it Looks as if You are Armed for Battle. Initially a shot-by-shot reenactment of a famous Dynasty catfight scene, the project evolved in editing, focusing on the women’s wordless yet intense stares, exaggerated expressions, and the illogical drama of their absurd silent confrontation Gallery W139, Amsterdam (NL), Screening and talk, Winter 2015 The spectacle of our Lives, Deborah Bowmann at De Studio, Antwerp Art week (BE), 2021