7. AUG, 2009, 2009
- 35mm, no sound, 3:00 min.

Henrik Håkansson’s new film 7. AUG, 2009 consists of super slow-motion footage of butterflies fluttering against a blue sky. The film is shown on 35mm film: the format used in cinemas. The result is an ultra-sharp ”big screen” image which highlights the meditative and poetic content of this small slice of nature.

In his works Håkansson confronts us with an isolated detail in nature that we often take for granted or even overlook. Here, we come across it unexpectedly and in a condensed format which imbues it with a paradoxically monumental quality and points to new, possible relationships between us and nature.
By recording isolated phenomena from the realms of nature and inserting them into the exhibition space of the museum, Håkansson investigates if they can act as models for cultural production, communication, and meaning. In this way he explores the boundaries between nature and culture. He does not view this pair of concepts as opposite poles; rather, he points to the complex web of mutual relations criss-crossing between nature and culture.

Based in Galtabäck, London and Berlin, Swedish Henrik Håkansson investigates the borderline between culture and nature. He employs the Earth’s ecosystems and complex relations between humans, animals and plants as aesthetic material. 

The relations are visualized through video projections, audio-images, and subtle environmental installations with poetic and minimalistic modes of expression. For instance, Håkansson let crickets perform via a PA system in a gallery, as if it were a rock concert. Once he had frogs dancing to techno music and for his latest movie at the exhibition RETHINK- Relations; he observed butterflies in their natural habitat. By bringing nature into an art forum, Håkansson seeks to challenge the way we relate to the environment. 

In 1993, Håkansson completed his education at Konstfack in Stockholm and has since then he has participated in several exhibitions: the Venice Biennale in 2003, Dunkers Kulturhus in 2004 and Sao Paulo Biennale in 2004. Additionally, he has received residency at Gardner Museum, 2003.