Swetlana Heger

Swetlana Heger presents new and recent work in her first solo exhibition in London. Her practice addresses the paradoxes of cultural production and artistic identity in a playful and performative way. “I think it is very important to incorporate my everyday life as an artist and the conditions of production under which I work as an artist into the art context itself.” (Swetlana Heger, Flash Art, June 2002)

Heger is exhibiting four photographs from Playtime (Swetlana Heger & Wolford, photographed by Bettina Komenda). Playtime is an ongoing project in which the artist becomes a model in corporate advertising campaigns as she collaborates with luxury brands to establish Swetlana Heger, the artist as a brand. Professional stylists and fashion photographers are involved in these ambiguous projects, that are both critical of and flirtatious with consumerist impulses within contemporary culture.

Heger has involved such brands as Adidas, Vitra, Levis Strauss, Bucherer and Hermès in her work. The companies she promotes are brought into the art context through exhibitions, art fairs and magazines and in return she receives in-kind support and sponsorship.

Heger’s most recent project is a series of un-produced works; Future Works. Perspex labels indicate the title, medium and edition of the works that will only be produced when a buyer acquires it. As if in a purely conceptual scenario, the buyer is asked to fall in love with an idea or an act of imagination about the artwork, which will be made specially for a personal collection or exhibition. The Future Works series also investigates a situation of artistic overproduction, and humorously proposes a solution - bespoke art on demand.

Swetlana Heger was born in 1968 in Brno, Czech Republic, and lives and works in Berlin. She has exhibited internationally including at KunstWerke, Berlin, Artists Space, New York, MAK, Vienna, Le Consortium, Dijon and Air de Paris, Paris.

Pressetext

Swetlana Heger: Future Works
London