Sigbjørn Bratlie

Sigbjørn Bratlie (b. 1973)

Sigbjørn Bratlie works with installation, painting, video and performance. His art practice has a conceptual and analytical undertone, and humour is an important part of it. The concept of language is also central to his work. Influenced by popular culture, his work is about the production of art works in the midst of an overwhelming flow of TV, movies, pop music, advertising, fashion and cartoons. His art pieces are often “filtered” through one or several layers of pop cultural references, but are ultimately about the search for a voice, both artistically and personally. There is also an underlying hermeneutic element in his work: An emphasis on language, semiotics and interpretation, and an urge to find meaning in cultural phenomena.

A key ingredient in his way of working is what he likes to call “the artist as anti-hero” – i.e. – the artist who desperately tries to create profound, deep-felt and groundbreaking work, but who usually fails miserably. This strategy accounts for a lot of the humour in his work.

During his residency at HIAP in 2010, Sigbjørn Bratlie prepared works for a solo show at Galleria Huuto, Viiskulma. Bratlie returned to Helsinki in 2013 when he was hosted by HIAP during the preparations of his exhibition How to Grow a Beard in 21 Days at XL Art Space.