[September 18th 2002]
interview

Luca Frei in front of Rooseum Lobby, at the Radisson SAS in Malmö

Suggestions for Empty Spaces
Interview with Luca Frei
kopenhagen was very curious to see the Rooseum Lobby at the Radisson SAS in Malmö. On Tuesday, September 3rd, we took the train over to meet Luca Frei, the artist currently exhibiting there. In addition to his work as an artist, Luca works with graphic design (he designed the Rooseum - and Rooseum Lobby - logo) and architecture.
Luca is from Switzerland, studied at the Edinburgh College of Art, and in June he graduated from the Malmö Art Academy. He’s exhibited internationally, frequently over the last 2-3 years. Luca is a member of Signal, an artist-run exhibition space in Malmö. Texst and photo: Torben Zenth, translation: David Duchin

Luca Frei
Suggestions for Empty Spaces
August 30th. - December 1th.
Rooseum Lobby
Radisson SAS Hotel
Östergatan 10, Malmö
www.rooseum.se

Suggestions for Empty Spaces, Luca Frei at Rooseum Lobby

Hi Luca, maybe you could begin by telling us about this exhibition?
Yeah, these are basically my latest works. I created them this summer; it's mostly collage - and the title is Suggestions for Empty Spaces - and that's exactly what they are... They have to do with architecture, but also mind-mapping - they create empty spaces in the mind.

What are these empty spaces?
Empty spaces are places for possibilities, places where things can happen. They’re like parentheses.

Suggestions for Empty Spaces, Luca Frei at Rooseum Lobby

I understand that you work with graphic design and architecture. And this is art. Can you say something about the differences?
I think the difference is that when you work with architecture, maybe - I don't know - you have to play a game a bit. You have to play within the rules of the game, that are the space, the environment, the people working in the space or whatever. Basically this is more about playing, because I made the rules up myself. If we think about game and play, children's practice... it has this kind of playful input. I don't have to respond to any other rules here - so this is a bit more like a thinking-process, rather than looking for an answer - it's more like questioning.

This Rooseum Lobby is quite a special exhibition room - have you any thoughts about this?
It has been a bit difficult, because I accepted about a year ago - and then I didn't know what to do. I thought a lot about doing something site-specific involving people coming here - because I work in that sense with other projects... I don't know, because this is really site-specific for the place where we are. I don't think it would be really site-specific to do a project where people have things in the rooms and have to read ore whatever... Then - really short - I also thought about the hotel as a very neutral place - there is nothing personal - it's just a place of passage in a way. Then I focused on this fantastic idea of living-units based on platforms - moving platforms - then it could be a proposal for some kind of living-units, so it is very site-specific in a way. Maybe it's not interactive - maybe it is not even the right place - because people are tired when they come here and... the only thing you could make here is like a massage or something. I guess they have it already.

Suggestions for Empty Spaces, Luca Frei på Rooseum Lobby

You are also involved with Signal... What is Signal?
Signal is an art-space, and it started 4 years ago. I've just worked there one year. It's not a commercial art-space, we are funded by the city and because we are non-commercial we don't have the stress of having to account for our earnings, so we can do basically what we want, and our program has both local, not so known artists and more established international artists. So we have this freedom of doing what we want to do. And now we’ve moved to a new place, in a more lively area, in Möllevangen.

Can you say something about the art-scene in Malmö?
Well - I think we have always been in a kind of struggle situation between Copenhagen and Stockholm - we have two capitals in a way. But I think - I really don't want to say something stupid - but I think in Malmö we have a very good situation because we don't have an overpowering history we have to relate to, and the city is very working class. So it's not this kind of pretty place - it's a rough city. So it's a working place in a way - it's like a big studio - and we are very well connected to the outside - and at the same time we are small - it's not a big place - so it pushes you to have more contact with the outside...

So you are not tempted to move to Copenhagen or Stockholm?
No - I must say - it sounds like propaganda - I'm not. In Malmö we are more connected to Europe than we are to Stockholm. We are totally near. But it's a small city and there are not many good galleries - lots of commercial galleries that sell this kind of Mickey Mouse-framed stuff - but people are really active...

Thank you

More...
Interview with Luca Frei about Proposal for a new office space, Index, Stockholm 2002