Publications 2001

We are All Normal (and we want our freedom)

Edited by Katya Sander and Simon Sheikh


We are All Normal (and we want our freedom) is a collection of contemporary Nordic artists' writings, edited by Katya Sander and Simon Sheikh. At once a mapping of and an introduction to contemporary artistic practice in the Nordic region, We are All Normal also indicates the historical precedents and traditions affecting this work. The purpose of the book is two-fold: to focus on the thematics and thinking processes present in the Nordic region and abroad, from an artistic rather than from an art historical point of view. In addition, it aims to use art writing instrumentally as well as allegorically, to discuss the politics and subjectivities of contemporary Nordic, Post Cold War and, possibly, Post Welfare society.

If there is one particular notion seemingly prevalent in the Nordic region, it could be referred to as "the confluence of welfare and freedom". Where do you find your freedom(s) and how do you find them, in the wilds, within the specific notion of society, or internalised in the individual subject and his or her organising of social surroundings? Since World War II, the Nordic countries did not only epitomise welfare, freedom, democracy and peace on the world stage, but within this region, as in the rest of the West, the role of the artist has signified the ultimate free human. In this context, We are All Normal sets out to explore a wide range of issues relevant to contemporary art and society, from the 'Care of the Self' to the 'Politics of Pop'.

17,5 x 23 cm, 415 pages
ISBN 1-901033-23-6
Published by NIFCA, Helsinki & Black Dog Publishing Limited in collaboration with the Danish Art Foundation, 2001

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