Destruction

Alfredo Jaar is a Chilean artisit who lives and works in New york. He is the next artist to have an exhibition at the South London Gallery where I work. I hadn't heard of him before so had a look at his work on his website. His work is often politically rooted and I discovered many previous projects which interested me. This one in particular did and I have also realised it is of relavence to the path I think i want to take with the play project.
I'm interested not only in the act of destruction itself but also the idea of permanence. It's easy to view an act like this as wasteful and in many ways it is, but there's the fact that in its destruction the thing is payed alot more attention than it would have, people remember it to be more beautiful than it was, it's demise is talked about more than the structure itself. Just like a dead rock star, Jaar's construction is short lived yet exciting, it goes out at its peak never to be witnessed by anybody when its weathered and old.



The Skoghall Konsthall, 2000
Skoghall, Sweden

A living culture is one that creates.

Skoghall is a small community in search of an identity. Up until now, its identity has been strongly identified as a Paper Mill town. In fact, most of Skoghall has been built by the Paper Mill, including most of the housing and the church.

It is time for Skoghall to present to Sweden and to the world a new image, a contemporary image of progress and culture, beyond being a dormitory for the Paper Mill workers. An image of creativity and actuality. An image of a dynamic and progressive place where culture is created, not only consumed. A living culture is one that creates.

The Skoghall Konsthall

I propose to design and build a new, contemporary structure to house the new Skoghall Konsthall. This structure will be built completely in paper produced by the Paper Mill, in close collaboration with local architects and builders.

The design will reflect the best of contemporary Swedish architecture in its minimal elegance and respect for the environment. It will also reflect the generous commitment of the main local industry in the creation of a forward looking structure and institution that will project Skoghall into the future.

The opening exhibition

The opening exhibition will feature the first exhibition ever held in Skoghall of young emerging swedish artists from Stockholm, Malmo and Gotenburg. The Konsthall will be officially inaugurated by the Mayor of the City, in the presence of the entire local community.

The Closing Ceremony

Exactly 24 hours after its opening, the Skoghall Konsthall will disappear, engulfed in flames. The burning of the structure will be pre-planned and will satisfy the most demanding security requirements.

Epilogue

By its paper nature and design, the Skoghall Konsthall will probably be one of the most advanced contemporary paper structure ever created for contemporary art. But it will also be one of the shortest-lived structures ever created for contemporary art.

I am hoping that this combination of creativity and ephemeral existence will perhaps help define the importance of contemporary art in our lives.

And it is my hope that the extremely short life of the Skoghall Konsthall will make visible the void in which we would live if there was no art. And this realization will perhaps lead the city of Skoghall into the creation of a much-needed permanent space for contemporary creation and projection.

Alfredo Jaar
Notes on The Skoghall Konsthall, 1999