Detail of 1992 FLY COAT. H 125 x W 72 x D 9 cm. Cotton, latex and dead flies. Photo by Lars Gustafsson.

1992.06.13. BELLOWS IX /
DOCUMENTA IX / KASSEL / TEXT BY THE ARTIST.

 
Paintings for flies

The way flies see is structured in a radically different way than our sight. Paintings for flies are executed in red. Red lies outside the colour spectrum that most insects can see, normally around 650 m whereas red is around 750 m On the other hand they can grasp, probably through genetically inherited experience, that this seeming emptiness, the void, is something, despite their inability to see it. A number of insects can distinguish certain red flowers such as, for instance, paper rhoeadales, since they reflect ultraviolet light, while others can distinguish various shades of red because they contain additional pigments. Some flowers, indeed, con-tain pigments the human eye can not perceive. Thus it may be that these controlling codes are in the red flowers. One thing we do know with certainty is that flies can not distinguish red. They can only apprehend its existence through a manifest absence. The paintings describe Bellows No.9 step by step for the flies. Localization, structure, suction entry, various valves and passages and the flies’ final enclosure. This enclosure may mean death for the flies. For me, this work has meant that I have been able to show for the first time the connection between death and its description to flies. UR 1992

Group Exhibition DOCUMENTA IX, Kassel, Germany. Curated by Jan Hoet, Bart de Baere, Pier Luigi Tazzi and Denys Zacharopoulos. Special Thanks to Johan Nobell, Esad Pasic, Hans Hamid Rasmussen, Hans Ruin, Krister Sundvall and Mikael Theorin, Atlas Copco, Rexroth Mecman, SSAB, Torbjörn Lenskog AB, Bildkonstnärsfonden, Documenta IX, Kulturrådet, Svenska Institutet & Museum Van Hedendaagse Kunst in Ghent (SMAK).
In memory of Rolf Söderdahl. All photos by Lars Gustafsson.
1992 BELLOWS IX is part of NATIONAL GALLERY OSLO COLLECTION, STATENS KONSTRÅD COLLECTION
and S M A K COLLECTION.
www.documenta14.de/en/

Neue Documenta Halle in construction. Planning the positioning of 1992 BELLOWS IX. Photo by Lars Gustafsson.
1992 BELLOWS IX. H 712 x W 590 x W 590 cm. Steel, cotton, latex, aluminium, epoxy, pneumatics, brass,
bakelite, electrical parts, neoprene rubber, nylon and plastic. Photo by Lars Gustafsson.
Collection National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo.
The fly that I caught in my bathroom. Photo by Lars Gustafsson.
Maggots at Untra Farm, Sweden. Photo by Lars Gustafsson.
1992 FLY COAT. Installed at Untra Farm, Sweden.
1992 FLY COAT. H 125 x W 72 x D 19 cm
Cotton, latex and dead flies. Photo by Lars Gustafsson. Collection National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo.
1992 SKETCH FOR BELLOWS IX. Watercolor on cotton rag paper. Collection SMAK, Ghent.
1992 SKETCH FOR BELLOWS IX. Watercolor on cotton rag paper. Collection SMAK, Ghent.
Eyes of a fly.
1992 9 PAINTINGS FOR FLIES. Each painting H 60 x W 45 x D 30 cm.
Pigments, latex, mosquito net, cotton, aluminium and galvanized steel. Photo by Lars Gustafsson. Collection Statens Konstråd.
1992 PAINTINGS FOR FLIES. On the facade of Neue Documentahalle. Photo by Lars Gustafsson. Collection Statens Konstråd.
1992 PAINTINGS FOR FLIES N:O 2. H 60 x W 45 x D 30 cm.
Pigments, latex, mosquito net, cotton, aluminium and galvanized steel.
Photo by Lars Gustafsson. Collection Statens Konstråd.
1992 PAINTINGS FOR FLIES N:O 8. H 60 x W 45 x D 30 cm.
Pigments, latex, mosquito net, cotton, aluminium and galvanized steel.
Photo by Lars Gustafsson. Collection Statens Konstråd.
1992 PAINTINGS FOR FLIES N:O 9. H 60 x W 45 x D 30 cm.
Pigments, latex, mosquito net, cotton, aluminium and galvanized steel.
Photo by Lars Gustafsson. Collection Statens Konstråd.
1992 REFRIDGERATED LIQUIDS TO ATTRACT FLIES. Stainless steel, floatglass, polaroids, sponge, steel bucket, sugar cane juice from Brazil. cow shit, horse shit and sheep shit.
Collection SMAK, Ghent.
Manual for Bellows No.9, 22 x 17 cm, 48 pages, text by Hans Ruin & the artist, art direction by Torbjörn Lenskog,
photographer Lars Gustafsson, published by Torbjörn Lenskog, Stockholm, Sweden, 1992.
Inside 1992 BELLOWS IX MANUAL.
Heartfelt Thanks to Stefan Andersson for whiskey, Dag Birkeland for perfekt plaster masters, Tommy Blomskog and Thomas Karlsson for flying tops, Brunells Konstsmide for the end, Ricky Carlsson for polish, Leif Claesson for taking care of the flies, Jorge Cordera for connection with big rubber trees, Lars Gustafsson for all calm, Sven Gustafsson for blinking,, Konsthögskolan for space, KTH for housing the project, Nick Lapington for panicing, Torbjörn Lenskog for the catalogue, Klaus-Jörgen Liedke for wanted translations, Museum of Natural History for demonstrations on fly catching, Johan Nobell for all your support and hard work building model for Bellows, Claes Nordenhake for foundation, Esad Pasic for arriving on time, Hans Hamid Rasmussen for feeling, Hans Ruin for a beatiful text, Grant Rodgers for flying along with us, Gertrud Sandquist for a dance, Micke Schleu for concentration, Skansen for elephant smell, Krister Sundvall and Mikael Theorin for engineering and long nights, Björn Springfeldt for support, Rolf Söderdahl for beautiful welding, Anders Thörn for delivering and Ultuna Library for fly research. In memory of Rolf Söderdahl.