DVD 11.30 min
“Big Game” (2008), DVD 11.30 min. Installation view from Avesta Art 08
This video work tells the story of an American arriving at the bison park in my hometown Avesta, Sweden, in the 1950′s with a wish to shoot one of the endangered animals. The video is based upon interviews with four former caretakers from the park. What follows is like a game of Chinese Whispers where the original tale gets twisted into something completely different, revealing dishonesty and corruption. As in many previous works I here too focus on the subjective character of memory and interpretation. “Big Game”* stars a childhood friend (Fredrik Pettersson) and is the first installment in a Swedish-spoken trilogy of works referencing westerns filmed in Europe during the 1960′s.
Four stills from “Big Game” (2008), DVD 11.30 min
“Big Game is the work that has one of its origins in Avesta and another in the western myth of the cowboy. The scene is Avesta’s park for the European bison, the trademark of Avesta ironworks that goes back to the twenties – a symbol of timelessness and strength, and for the steel company’s responsibility for the survival of the species and Mother earth. New owners have brought with them their own symbols and – while waiting for a long-term solution – the bison park is now owned by the town of Avesta. Magnus remembers from childhood days the melancholy he saw in the eyes of the fenced-in bison. In his works he portrays the story that has gone around for many years – a truth, a legend or a myth … There are many versions.
A cowboy makes his entry – stylishly dressed in a trench coat and classic cowboy hat, he advances across the fields. The countryside could just as easily be the Wild West as Avesta. His eyes flash at the bison, fenced in like the American Indians. Power and evil are what are then expressed.
‘Who can we believe in?’ the artist asks. ‘Cowboys were simple men who drove cattle before Hollywood turned them into heroes. In the films they are freedom fighters who won America from the wild Indian savages. In today’s power politics, George W Bush lets the cowboys symbolize freedom when the USA uses military power to take over faraway countries.’
Magnus Monfeldt also seems to wonder what significance the bison has as a symbol for today’s Avesta. The shiny stainless steel bison in the town’s square – a sculpture by Lars Andersson – appears, outstanding – and overpowering?”
(Excerpt from catalog text by Karin Perers)
* See also “Kära Mor och Far” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone”