- 26 Mar 2021 1am UTC
- dur 2min
Morgen is a video showing my practice of (my version of) yoga that I filmed during my residency in Berlin. There is a different approach to self-observation: I filmed myself, with my phone, in the privacy of my room. My musical selection which was a shuffle of a 5+year old random Youtube playlist that caused my body to occasionally react on its own while performing classical positions, and the movement changes into a kind of dance. In all the videos, I am dressed in the same black sports outfit, I am filmed in front of the same background, and each part of the routine lasts in most cases a few seconds. Changing the speed of the shots, acceleration (which is my usual procedure), creates a specific effect and a humorous undertone. The composite video is visually minimalistic, but at the same time it shows the body, body parts, muscular effort, in a very dynamic way. If the viewer doesn\’t know it is yoga, one can easily think of ballet, contemporary dance, circus acrobatics, or a sports activity.
BIO: Nika Ham (b. 1991) is a multi-discipline artist with a Masters Degree in painting, that she completed at the Academy of Fine Art and Design in Ljubljana, Slovenia. In 2013/14, she furthered her studies at the Winchester School of Art in the UK. During her studies, Ham participated in several solo and group exhibitions. Since 2016 she has worked as the Art Director of the Graphic Department for the LET’S CEE Film Festival in Vienna. She also collaborates with the Laibach art group and works for Moderna galerija in Ljubljana. In recent years, her artistic expression has shifted from painting to video, digital art and performance art. She uses her body to outline spaces in cultural institutions, puts herself in unconventional situations, and uses security camera footage for her video work to obtain views that are normally accessible only to “surveillers”. With her videos, graphic design, and photographs, Ham also works in theater and the Ljubljana club scene. ARTIST’S WEBSITE