Exhibition. Galleri CFF
Albin Biblom: Mechkar, Curiosity and Control and The Conquest of Space – an exhibition in three parts.
Albin Biblom
20240126 - 20240317
For the past 20 years, Albin Biblom has investigated humanity’s desire to explore but also to tame nature and animals. In a three-part exhibition based on three documentary films, the visitor gains insight into his in-depth research.
All the films feature humanity’s contradictory pursuit of being one with nature while simultaneously distancing itself from and controlling it. This paradoxical approach is explored through various types of phenomena, such as the construction of zoos, dying traditions, and human ideas about expansion.
In the exhibition room, each film is shown in its entirety during its respective exhibition period. The narratives are expanded with photographs, texts, and archival material.
I. Mechkar-The Story of a Bulgarian Bear Owner (2005)
Opening January 26, 17:00 – 20:00
Exhibition runs 26/1–11/2
The Romani tradition of making a living from dancing bears has been passed down for generations for over 1000 years. In 2000, the animal rights organizations Vier Pfoten and Brigitte Bardot Foundation decided to put an end to this practice in Bulgaria. Mechkar-The Story of a Bulgarian Bear Owner follows bear owner Stefan Dimov Ivanov and his bear Stefka during their last time together
II. Curiosity and Control (2018)
Opening February 15, 17:00–20:00
Exhibition runs 15/2–3/3
Wonder, exploitation, and a desire to preserve; Curiosity and Control is about our complex relationship with nature. Through interviews with zoo directors, historians, and architects, the film explores how dioramas at natural history museums and how zoos have attempted to reconnect people with nature, as well as our drive to control it. As zoo director David Hancock puts it; There’s a fine line between loving something and possessing it.
III. The Conquest of Space (2023)
Opening March 7, 17:00–20:00
A conversation with Albin Biblom. At 18:00.
Exhibition runs 7/3–17/3
Fruit flies, frogs, and dogs are just some of the animals that humans have shot into space. The Conquest of Space tells the story of the chimpanzee Ham’s space journey a few months before Gagarin became the first human in space. A tragicomic reflection on the human space program seen from the animals’ perspective, based on archival material from NASA and National Archives.
In collaboration with Tempo Documentary Festival.
Exhibition brochures to download:
