Sofie Hesselholdt (1974) and Vibeke Mejlvang (1976) are the two members of the Copenhagen­based artist group Hesselholdt & Mejlvang. They initiated their collaborative practice in 1999. MFA The Royal Danish Academy of Art in 2006.

Hesselholdt & Mejlvang work with scenographic installations characterized by aesthetic and political acuity. They combine recognizable symbols and objects from the culture around us – for example, the flag and the pentagram with their identifiable but ambiguous references. One also often meets furniture and fittings in the scenographies that the artists have taken out of the safe framework of the home.

Barricading, power symbols, veiling and the use of rather bombastic color combinations are all elements that often occur in the duos installatory pieces. A recurring theme in their work is national self­understanding. Their installations are often characterized by a bleak, disturbing atmosphere beneath a seemingly pleasant surface. What in many other contexts is perceived as nice or festive, in the work of the artist duo takes a threatening, unapproachable twist that questions the way nationality is often practiced.

Hesselholdt & Mejlvang’s work is focusing on the conditions of human modern life in terms of a social or even political engagement. They implode fragments from the visual culture of everyday life into new, revealing and often humorous constellations. But far from a dogmatic form it is a complex and elaborating investigation, where the artwork opens for dialog with its environment.

www.hesselholdt-mejlvang.dk