Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum has announced the debut of Useless Sacrifice, a short film created by renowned international Berlin-based Swedish artist Anna Uddenberg. The film, produced in collaboration with co-director Thyago Sainte, marks a significant milestone as it represents the artist’s inaugural foray into the world of film and her first film premiere in the United States.
Known for her hypersexualized sculptures of female figures, Uddenberg has long been intrigued by the concept of imitated authenticity. Her work delves into the intersection of various forms of fetishism, from BDSM and other sexual expressions to Instagram influencers and the insidious grip of capitalist commodification. Set within the dual settings of her recent exhibitions at Meredith Rosen Gallery in New York City and Schinkel Pavillon in Berlin, Uddenberg’s latest project extends these investigations into the medium of film, using her sculptures as uncanny objects enacted upon by rigidly professional women and young men in adult diapers. In the film, both gallery settings are activated with a performative narrative that positions the female protagonist in a place of authority, confronting and subverting gender normativity. Useless Sacrifice encapsulates the amalgamation of technological voyeurism, the human form, and consumerism, capturing the essence of the contemporary aesthetic zeitgeist all too prevalent in our feeds.
Notably, the artist’s impact extends beyond the confines of the art world, permeating social media and even the realm of high fashion, evident through her notable collaborations with the luxury brand Balenciaga. Earlier this year, Uddenberg garnered widespread acclaim as footage from her Meredith Rosen Gallery exhibition, which is featured in the film, went viral on TikTok. The documentation amassed an astounding 100 million combined views, with audiences aghast trying to understand the familiar yet strange performance of women strapped into sculptures that referenced common objects like boats, exam tables, and waiting room furniture. Anchored in societal discourse, Uddenberg’s work navigates complex themes of labor, class, gender, and the increasingly tenuous undercurrents inherent in our modern attention economies.
Useless Sacrifice seamlessly integrates elements synonymous with Uddenberg’s performance art, featuring audacious, yet meticulously designed sculptures that invite contemplation on power dynamics, agency, and the pervasive influence of aspiration culture. As the artist herself aptly summarizes, “My work is an exploration of the commodification of the self and the quest to transform oneself into a marketable product.”
This premiere coincides with Uddenberg’s current solo exhibitions Homewreckers at The Perimeter in London, where the film is also on view, and Premium Economy at the esteemed Kunsthalle Mannheim in Germany, following her well-deserved recognition of the prestigious Hector Art Prize in 2022. Additionally, the film marks the culmination of Uddenberg’s fellowship with Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum.
Useless Sacrifice has a 20-minute runtime and will premiere online via Black Cube’s YouTube channel followed by a pre-recorded interview with the artist on December 14th, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. MST. Free, registration not required. Learn more at blackcube.art/useless-sacrifice.
The film was co-commissioned by The Perimeter, Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum, and Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler.
About
Anna Uddenberg was born in Stockholm in 1982 and today lives and works in Berlin and Stockholm. She studied at Frankfurt Städelschule and Stockholm’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Her works have been shown internationally in solo and group exhibitions, including at Meredith Rosen Gallery, New York (2023); Taipei Fine Arts Museum (2023); Centre Pompidou Metz (2023); Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin (2022); Berghain Panoramabar, Berlin (2020); Athens Biennale, Athens (2018); Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, Sankt Gallen (2018); House of Gaga Mexico City (2017); Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne (2017); Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (2017). Additionally, Uddenberg was the 2020 artist fellow for Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum in Denver, CO, the recipient of the Hector Kunstpreis, 2022 and Overbeck-Preis fur? bildende Kunst, 2023.
Black Cube is a nonprofit, nomadic art museum headquartered in Denver, Colorado. By operating outside of traditional museum confines, Black Cube endeavors to reach diverse audiences across the globe while supporting artists’ sustainability. At its core, Black Cube stimulates the public realm with ambitious, experimental, and engaging contemporary art that seeks to inspire. To advance its mission, Black Cube offers an artist fellowship, exhibitions, and public programming focused on sustaining artists’ careers and forming meaningful relationships with audiences. Black Cube was founded by philanthropist, Laura Merage, and is supported by the David and Laura Merage Foundation and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Learn more at www.blackcube.art or engage with us on Facebook (@BlackCubeNomadicArtMuseum) and Instagram (@blackcube.museum).
