Morten Nilsson

14.01.2005 - 04.03.2005
DANCERS

The young, Danish photographer Morten Nilsson is showing his series Dancers, a fascinating portrait series of ballroom dancers. The photographs capture the dancers in an intense combination of affectation and revelation. Nilsson has photographed the dancers immediately after having competed, sweating and out of breathe, but still with their assumed expressions and postures. Their hair shines with pomade, their faces are covered with a thick layer of make-up, and their wide-open yet empty eyes are still lit up by the effort and concentration. They are still in their rôles as flawless performers, but their natural faces can be made out under the make-up.

Many of the dancers have barely reached puberty, but they are dressed up as adults in glittering dresses and tight suits. They are at the moment of passage between childhood and adulthood, in low-cut dresses revealing flat bosoms, and without much more than a light shade on their upper lips. The insecurity of youth is apparent in their faces and bodies, despite the make-up and the costumes. Nilsson has captured their strength and their weakness, he represents the mask while hinting at what is hidden behind it.

This contrast between the natural and the unnatural also characterizes the way Morten Nilsson works as a photographer: clearly pre-meditated, but at the same time very immediate. He hasn’t manipulated the pictures; he has chosen whatever wall was on location as his background, and there is no other source of lighting than his bright flash. Nilsson’s portraits of these dancers go extremely close, but are also quite distanced. The dancers almost appear to be mannequins or wax models. These are stills and close-ups of a world that is meant to be seen in movement and at a distance. With his series Dancers, Morten Nilsson has portrayed a world that revels in mannerisms and stylizations, exaggerating a glamour that is closer to Las Vegas than to Hollywood, closer to kitsch than to culture.  

Concurrent with his exhibition at Stalke, the edition will be shown in New York and Rotterdam.


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