Brexit, Trump and the rise of the Far Right. Proto-fascist electoral mobilisations and a crisis of neoliberal capitalism. Growing social inequality and the hollowing out and atomisation of civil society. The migrant crisis and the end of free movement, multiculturalism and internationalism. Terrorism and the new normality of perpetual war. Mona poses the question: Are we sliding down a slippery slope?
First Edition
150 copies
32 pages
17.5 cm x 27.0 cm
Pamphlet Bound Softcover
Risograph printing
LIC PAPER 2016
ISBN 978-82-93341-19-2
“The concept of Ødegård’s photobook is breathtakingly simple: it takes the verbal idiom literally and documents people sliding down watery slopes. Metaphorically however, it is concerned with urgent new reality of Brexit and Donald Trump, the rise of the Far Right movement in Europe, the ongoing refugee crisis, and the ever changing war on terrorism. As we seem to be moving away from the shared values of multiculturalism and internationalism, the work poses one direct question: are we sliding down a slippery slope?
Sliding Down a Slippery Slope is a thin soft cover book of a comfortable medium size. The title appears on the cover in dominant deconstructed lettering in all capitals reminiscent of Christopher Wool’s paintings, its loud graphical screaming leaving no doubt as to its opinionated perspective. An image of foamed water at a sliding angle serves as a background for the cover. The book is handmade and bound using a bright orange thread, which particularly stands out against its black and white content.
Inside, black and white photographs capture people going down the water flow in inflatable tubes. The first image depicts the legs and swimming trunks of a young man and the upper body of his friend as they use swim rings. At first, its angle and framing might seems unexpected and even confusing. But as we turn the pages, we see energetic fragments of boys and men with their bodies on tubes again and again as they slide down. The photographs appear only on one spread, shifting between the left and right sides. Most of the images show only half of the bodies (with legs up in the air) adding to the dramatic, uncontrolled atmosphere of the narrative.
The image in the middle appears full spread and shows a girl in her bikini on a swim ring face down, her legs crossed and her arms up in the air. This is the only time we see a full body, and the bright orange binding thread goes through the middle of the image, breaking up the otherwise monochrome narrative. The second half of the book adds images of girls, and once again the cycle repeats, with more flailing legs and sliding forms.
As the images pile up, this fun water activity slowly starts to take a different turn: we are not exactly sure what’s happening, yet there is a certain creeping sense of distress and void. Ødegård’s framing of the photographs begin to feel almost dangerous, and paired with the title of the book, this feeling somehow mimics our concerns about the volatile and changing global environment, its uncertainty and despair.
Sliding Down the Slippery Slope is a small and straightforward project, yet it is quietly brilliant. It exists as an immediate reaction to a fast changing global atmosphere, and it reflects the artist’s demand to express concern and to take a stand. No matter how modest and playful it may seem, Ødegård’s photobook delivers its message with surprising force. It’s a well-conceived contemporary protest book, using the metaphorical message of its visuals as a potent representation of the dangers of our changing world.”
Reviewed by Olga Yatskevich in Collector Daily.