”Alt forladt” (“All abandoned”) rum 46, Aarhus
Solo exhibition and documentation of art project at Gellerupplanen, Aarhus with workshops. 2023
“All abandoned” (in Danish “Alt forladt”) is a statement with a double meaning in Danish. It can mean forgiveness: that everything is okay, and it can also mean to leave or abandon: for example to abandon a place or leave this life.
Both meanings are human emotions that are at play in connection with the renovation project in Gellerupplanen, Aarhus where buildings are demolished and rebuilt, where people are moving out often against their own wish and being rehoused and where new places emerges.
The main artwork is the text “Alt forladt” in yellow neon. It hangs on the gable of the apartment block Inger Christensens Gade 31. The block is one of those to be demolished.
From 14. of May I did visit all 96 residents of Inger Christensens Gade 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, and 45 to invite all to participate in a workshop based on the saying “Alt forladt” – “All Abandoned”. The residents here got the opportunity to tell me about important events they have experienced over the years in this place. I hand-embroidered the most important statements on white ladies handkerchiefs, with the title “Alt forladt” – “All Abandoned” – pre-embroidered in yellow.
The talks and embroidery took place partly in my workspace, which has been moved into Inger Christensens Gade 33 and partly outside the blocks next to the park. The project was realized in collaboration with Brabrand Boligforening, and it took place in this spring and summer 2021.
The project Alt forladt – All Abandoned
All abandoned (in Danish Alt forladt) is a statement with a double meaning in Danish. It can mean forgiveness: that everything is okay, and it can also mean to leave or abandon: for example to abandon a place or leave this life.
Both meanings are human emotions that are at play in connection with the renovation project in Gellerupplanen, where buildings are demolished and rebuilt, where people are moving out and being rehoused and where new places emerges.
The main artwork is the text Alt forladt in yellow neon. It hangs on the gable of the apartment block Inger Christensens Gade 31. The block is one of those to be demolished, and the text had to remain in place during the demolition of the house.
From 14 May I visited all the residents of Inger Christensens Gade 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, and 45 to invite them to participate in a workshop based on the saying Alt forladt – all Abandoned. All the residents got the opportunity to tell me about important events that they have experienced over the years in this place.
I embroided the most important statements on white handkerchiefs, with the statement Alt forladt – all Abandoned – pre-embroidered in yellow.
The talks and the embroidery toke place partly in my work space, which has been moved into Inger Christensens Gade 33 and partly outside the blocks next to the park. The project was realized in collaboration with Brabrand Boligforening, and it toke place in this spring and summer 2021.
The handkerchiefs are now collected to form a web which is hanging in front of the windows in “rum46” and through them one can see the bright neon artwork “Alt forladt” laying on the floor.
During the exhibition at ”rum46” guests were invited to create their own statements with needle and thread on the old-fashioned handkerchiefs. With this invitation to create together Gjesing wished to open the art up for the guests and give them the opportunity to express the feelings and thoughts, that the installation had set in motion. Those sewn contributions are continuously to be hanged together on the wall.
