Anteroom of the Real

Lina Selander &

In Anteroom of the Real Lila Selander uses photographs to tell a tale running backwards in time. The photographs are stacked on a black background, which gives the appearance of a passe-partout frame. Every few seconds the topmost picture is removed by a woman’s hand, revealing the one underneath.

Lina Selander takes the viewer by the hand and leads them through a sequence of photographs back to the starting point of the tale. Bit by bit, the viewer is confronted with the catastrophe of the Chernoby atomic power station and its effects. To start with, they see pictures of the deserted, ruined city Prypjat: The camera’s journeys through the empty rooms of a school or a factory show the destruction of the settlement. The tension rises as the sequence of photographs runs towards the final picture. This shows a hand on one of the power station’s control switches, visualising the instant which led to the far-reaching catastrophe of April 26 1986. The film is notable for the absence of sound and its unmoving pictures. In this way the emphasis lies on the photographs shown and their inherent tale. (Daniela Pöstinger)

About the video

Title Anteroom of the Real
Year 2012
Videonale VIDEONALE.14
Length 00:14:00
Format 16:9
Language No dialog
Courtesy the artist
Specifications color, no sound, single-channel video

About the artist

Lina Selander
  • 1973 in Stockholm, SWE.
    Studied at the University of Gothenburg, SWE, the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm, SWE, and the Valand School of Fine Arts, Gothenburg, SWE
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