Artist: Ragna Bley
Exhibition title: SUPERBODY SWEET
Venue: Editorial, Vilnius, Lithuania
Date: September 7 – 12, 2017
Photography: Andrej Vasilenko, all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Editorial, Vilnius
i. A note on that delightful picture of Admirals Blandy and Lowry and attached dimpling woman all preparing to eat the charming and oh-so-divine “atom bomb” cake. On Armistice Day I was thinking of so many charming variations of this theme. We could have darling little cakes made in the shape of coffins, and the cutest little crosses pressed of angel-puffs. And a few drops of cherry extract could be—you guessed it—drops of blood. [1]
ii. Scissors paper stone, to separate a healthy kidney from a sick one. You can dream of clouds but you still have to eat. My marginal worm, just cling on to your rectum, he whispers the meme from last nights Instagram surfing being alone. Hey! Look how I’m doing things yolo! The white sharp light of the first spring light, all faces against (towards) the sun, I close my eyes and my chin (cheek) is so close it touches yours, like the softest sun-warm stone.
iii. Did they fall for a Jedi mind trick? Princess Leia’s famous slave bikini sells at auction for a whopping $96,000. It won a special place in the hearts of fans after it was shown a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. [2]
[1] Response by readers to the 1946 Atomic Cake controversy. Found on http://conelrad.blogspot.lt/…/atomic-cake-controversy-of-19…
[2] Mike Larkin for dailymail.com 4 October 2015.
Ragna Bley (b. 1986, Uppsala, Sweden) lives and works in Oslo (NO). Bley received her BFA at The Oslo Academy of Fine Arts in 2011 and her MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, London (UK) in 2015. Recent solo exhibitions includes Lay Open at Frankfurt am Main, Berlin (DE) (2017); Zooid at Kunsthall Oslo – Munchmuseet on the move (2017) and Pine Pitch at Hester, New York (USA) (2016). Selected group exhibitions include UKS, Oslo (2016); XVI International Vilnius Painting Triennial, Museum of Applied Arts, Vilnius (2016) Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo (2016); Bosse & Baum, London (2015); Royal College of Art, London (2015); 1857, Oslo (2015); Kunsthall Oslo (2015); Taiga Art Space, St. Petersburg (RU) (2014); Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo (2014). Bley’s work is currently included in the 9th edition of the Norwegian Sculpture Biennal. Upcoming exhibitions include Nuuk Nordisk Kulturfestival, Nuuk, Greenland (GL) and a solo presentation at Kabuso Art Center, Øystese (NO). Bley is currently artist in residence at Rupert, Vilnius.
Credits of the images:
1-20 and 24: Ragna Bley, SUPERBODY SWEET, 2017. Cake, food colouring, acrylic paint on MDF. Editorial, Vilnius
21-23: Ragna Bley reads Let Them Eat Cake manifesto. Editorial, Vilnius
