Inside out
2016
Acid free white 125g. /150 g. paper, glue and sheets of A4 paper (old sketches and copies)
8 x 4 x 0.4 m
Gl. Strand, Copenhagen, Denmark

Peter Callesen was commissioned to create a temporary site-specific installation for Kunstforeningen Gl. Strand’s meeting space called The Montana Room in 2016. 

“Inside Out” represented a three-dimensional reflection made out of paper that mirrored the original window sections and wood panelling of the meeting room. 

The window glasses were made out of old sketches, cuttings and copies. Behind these transparent surfaces there were light boxes simulating daylight.

“I want to construct the windows out of small fragile and private stories, expressions and thoughts. An important source of inspiration is the interior paintings of the Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916) that portray a saturated and depressed atmosphere of something private yet very sensuous through the dominating depiction of daylight. 

Windows are a well-known metaphor for an extroverted vision but also for insight. The title “Inside Out” refers to the fact that you can look out of the windows but your view will be stopped by the motives that lead you to an inner and more private world – just like in Hammershøi’s paintings where you can’t see what’s outside the windows.