Kasper Akhøj’s often essayistic works are characterised by what might be called conceptual storytelling. They are based on his consistent documenting of objects from forgotten art, design and architecture histories, and also the institutions that harbour them. Akhøj’s investigations cover long periods of time. He borrows the anthropologists’ and historians’ tools but his commentary targets today’s conditions. To be able to recreate and analyse historical situations, he must gain access to as much adequate information as possible. Yet in the finished works he allows elements of fiction to penetrate the documentary. He emphasises the specific and the personal – concrete lived history – and avoids geopolitical simplification. The works become subjective statements, relying on but also challenging historical occurrences.

Åsa Nacking