Jens Haaning is one of the most significant and critically-engaged artists of his generation. Haaning has produced a body of conceptual artworks since the 1990s, which, when seen together, offers an acute reflection of a complex and changing society in the West. They are works that necessitate a debate around secularisation, including the related subjects of migration, displacement, gender equality, nationalism and freedom of expression.

For this edition of GIBCA, a significant section of the biennial is devoted to Jens Haaning’s practice, functioning as an early-career survey. It begins with the work Turkish Jokes from 1994, which could be seen as his artistic ‘big bang’. For the duration of the biennial, the work is presented in Hjalmar Brantingsplatsen in Gothenburg. The presentation in the Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art is one of the largest of Jens Haaning’s work to date, particularly in the Nordic Region.

Jens Haaning is based in Copenhagen.
Jens Haaning’s works can be viewed at Röda Sten Konsthall, Göteborgs Konsthall and Hjälmar Brantlingsplatsen.

Supported by Danish Arts Foundation, Danish Art Workshops, Western Art Karachi and the Cultural Foundation of the Swedish Postcode Lottery

Photo

Installation view WheredoIendandyoubegin – On Secularity, Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art 2017. Photo Hendrik Zeitler.