MELK is pleased to announce the opening of our new space with the exhibition by Espen Gleditsch titled PARALLAX.

Through photography, installation and text Gleditsch explores human interpretation, reading and reception with a conceptual approach to his chosen medium. Based on the the interplay between subjective experience and objective facts Gleditsch examines the mechanisms behind how our expectations, experiences and desires affect our interpretation of the world that surrounds us.

When working with historical records and photographs of found materials Gleditsch creates a renewed context based on a pre-given material and brings the viewer into a world of new meaning.

The work titled Voynich Manuscript is a photograph of a stack of paper, a work in progress on someone’s desk. The pictured paper stock shows 240 pages of handwritten code from 15th century titled The Voynich Manuscript. Since it was discovered in 1912, several renowned cryptologists have dealt with the codes without success and it is seen as one of the most cryptic manuscripts known to man.

The exhibition title derives from the parallax that exists between the sender and receiver of messages seen in images that we face every day in an increasingly mediated society. Where the reading of the media is critical to understanding the message, and the distinction between relevant and irrelevant information often lies within the viewer’s knowledge.

Espen Gleditsch (b. 1983, Tønsberg) has studied at FAMU in Prague and Fatamorgana in Copenhagen. His work has been included in exhbitions like Høstutstillingen (Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, 2011) Border District (Haugar Art Museum, Tønsberg, 2009) Labyrinth 09 – Writings and Observations (Botkyrka Konsthall, Stockholm, 2009) This Is The End (Gallery Spark, Copenhagen, 2009) Photographic Tendencies (Culture – Linda und Kunstverein, Hamburg 2008)

PARALLAX is Gleditsch’s first solo exhibition in Oslo