Blackout is a companion piece to the exhibition by Simon Starling & Superflex that took place in Kunsthallen Brandts. A workstation was set up in order to produce copies of a lamp designed by Poul Henningsen for Tivoli during the Second World War – the lamp not projecting light either upwards or downwards, but lightly spreading it out, which allowed the amusement park to remain open during the blackout. One copy a day of PH’s original lamp was produced and hung up, slowly illuminating the darkened room; an enlightenment rich in political overtones as well as being in line with Superflex’s exploration of the artistic possibilities of the copy. Likewise, a press was set up so as to print a new photographic documentation of each day’s process. The 172 beautiful black-and-white photographs in the book come up extremely close to the process and manage to convey a sense of motion and sculpture at the same time. 

Published by Kunsthallen Brandts, 2009

83 pages

Paperback

Edition of 500