Magnus Wallin

In his most recent project Horizon, Wallin has had two prosthetic eyes designed in glass; these are exact copies of his own eyes. The starting-point for the work is the history of medicine, and it refers to an image of a weeping skeleton from the book De Humani Corporis Fabrica, written by Andreas Vesalius in the year 1543. The title alludes to the emotional experience and understanding of human beings. The anonymous prostheses are openly on display. The whites have a pinkish tone and the blood vessels can be clearly seen. The bloodshot eyes look as they have just been weeping, which provides the object with an emotional charge. Objectivity becomes all but impossible when the eyes become both subject and object at the same time.

What is the nature of our contemporary relationship to the body? The fact that advanced technology makes it possible to replace body parts that no longer work has contributed to the development of a more mechanised and fragmented view of the body. What, however, will the consequences be of taking the ideal of the body to extremes?

Magnus Wallin

Born 1965 in Malmö. Lives and works in Malmö.

Education

1989–1995
Kgl. Danske Kunstakademi, Copenhagen [DK]

1988–1989

Valand School of Fine Arts, Gothenburg

Selected solo exhibitions

2003
SOLO, Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin [DE]

2002
Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm

2000
Physical Sightseeing, Uppsala Konstmuseum, Uppsala

Selected group exhibitions

2005
Kiss the Frog! – The Art of Transformation, The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo [NO]

2004
THE JOY OF MY DREAMS, I Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla Pabellón [SP]

2001
Plateau of Mankind, 49th Venice Biennale, Venice[IT]

Selected bibliography

Martin Henatsch, Magnus Wallin: Firewall, Ausstellungshalle zeitgenössische Kunst Münster, 2004.

Torsten Weimarck, “Reality is its own description”, Solo/Physical Sightseeing, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, 2002.

Sara Arrhenius, ”Magnus Wallin”, Plateau of Mankind, 49th Venice Biennale, Venice 2001.