”The Glider” is a mythological creature – a male exploring the principles of inclination and friction. In the winter, he is dwelling in ancient mountain birch forests, close to the tree line. He shuns exploited lands and interacts gently and lustfully with the more-than-human. Inspired by the deep ecology of the Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss, Nils Agdler has made a series of performances close to the ski resort Åre in the north of Sweden. GLIDE is presented as a two-channel film installation with the aim of raising awareness of the great threat to Europe´s last primeval forests, as well as how we can find new paths towards more sustainable tourism in less exploited areas.
Trailer (part 1)
Trailer (part 2)
RETARDATION is the second short film in the Male Nature Studies series.
”The Great Acceleration” gained momentum in the 1950s with the Western man at the wheel. The growth curves turned sharply upwards and so did, and still do, the human impact on the biosphere. But what if this man begins to see himself as a small part of nature instead of striving to "conquer" it? What if he abandons the pursuit of status and the ever-expanding claims to power? What if he slows down and throws his paralyzing yoke? Is he still a Man then?
In RETARDATION, Nils Agdler visualizes ideas of another future man – the resigned man, the regressed man, the liberated man, and possibly – the last man.
Available as film installation/short film and print 50 x 29 cm.
Trailer
REBIRTH is the first short film in the Male Nature Studies series.
The conception of "The New Man" emerged in the 1970s, and has since then reappeared from time to time, with varying ideals about how he should look, feel and act. There are often major inherent conflicts within the same ideal, which can cause great confusion for the man at the individual level.
In REBIRTH, Nils Agdler visualizes ideas of a coming new man, the unprotected and vulnerable man, the new-born man and the man as nature.
Available as film installation/short film and print 50 x 29 cm.
An ongoing photographic series that depicts men of different ages carrying heavy loads. They are walking around enclosed in their own bubble, depicted in profile or obliquely from behind in a kind of anonymous, generic cityscapes. With a clear focus on the backpack, it serves as a metaphor and psychological projection surface for men's personal history.
Brothers to Sisters: Välimiehet performing “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves” (3 min).
A film installation/short film by Nils Agdler & Timo Menke.
Brothers to Sisters is an ongoing series of choir works, initially produced in collaboration with the Porin Mies-Laulu male choirs in Pori, Finland. A male choir version of Annie Lennox’s and D. A. Stewart’s Sisters Are Doin’ it for Themselves (1985) is performed by the Välimiehet choir: the younger male generation reflects changes in gender roles and masculinity, insofar as the paragon of masculinity has been the role of the man as the family’s breadwinner.
Brothers to Sisters
The three-channel film installation Gifted Men (67 min) by Nils Agdler & Timo Menke that deals with the commercial distribution of semen in Denmark from the perspective of anonymous donors. Gifted Men is the result of a multidisciplinary research-based artistic project on donation practices.
Donations are often regarded as selfless good deeds, and are expected to be voluntary, free and anonymous, though they may raise sensitive ethical questions. The three-channel film installation Gifted Men focuses on the commercial distribution of sperm in Denmark, from the perspective of anonymous donors. Danish legislation (unlike that of most European countries) allows for anonymous sperm donations, leading to increasing fertility tourism from other European countries. Sperm banks operate in a complex grey area on several levels, marketing human sperm as a processed product. Special attention has been given to issues relating to masculinity and fatherhood, and how masculinity is manifested at the sperm banks and clinics. The project and its various outputs (short film, film installation, publication, donation performance) are based on personal interviews conducted with anonymous sperm donors and clinic managers in Copenhagen, Odense and Aarhus in Denmark.
Some of the questions raised in interviews with anonymous donors are: What motivated you to become a donor? How do you relate to the children you will never meet? How would you react if one of “your” children succeeded in finding out that you are his/her biological father? How do you reflect on a future scenario where more men choose to donate and more women select anonymous fathers for their children?
Gifted Men preview
