"Truth is Dead" Exhibition at Fotografiska

This week I took a visiting friend to Fotografiska museum for her birthday dinner and a look at their new exhibitions. I will write about my visit to their wonderful restaurant in a coming article. But, as I just wrote about another restaurant in my last article, I thought I would start with the exhibition first. They have three ongoing exhibitions, but we concentrated ourselves on "Truth is Dead" by Alison Jackson (showing until May 19th.

"Truth is Dead" is an evocative and humorous, sometimes dark, look at celebrity culture. Jackson uses celebrity look-alikes posing in situations, which may seem outlandish at times but completely plausible at the same time... which says something about celebrity culture these days. I mean we have a former reality star as the president of the US and one of the most famous women in the world is known for, well, her large bottom. Our royals and politicians become celebrities and our celebrities become royals and politicians.

Many of the images push the boundaries of good taste, which adds to the humor, though I will admit that this exhibition might not be for everyone. In fact, while a couple of photos in this article might seem questionable to you... I did choose the more "family friendly" ones. Don't misunderstand me, they are more PG 13 (for light nudity and sexual situations) than R rated.

The look alikes Jackson uses are often spot on so that we found ourselves arguing which ones were real or not. We also found ourselves giggling and sometimes laughing out loud at the situations she photographed these celebrities in... Bragelina picking out babies, Prince William using a breastfeeding apparatus, Marilyn and JFK in an embrace, Kanye and Kim in the delivery room and Simon Cowell getting a "Brazilian". It truly is a devilish look at how we revere famous people these days.

Fotografiska is located on the northern waterfront of Södermalm, just a 15-20 minute walk from the Hotel Rival. The closest subway/bus station is Slussen (10 minute walk from the museum). One extra special aspect of Fotografiska is their generous opening hours, closing at 11pm on Sun-Wed and 1am on Thurs-Sat. They also have a café and award-winning restaurant on the top floor with views of the harbor... well worth a visit. I am heading off on a work trip but will write an article about the restaurant upon my return.

They are doing some major construction in the Slussen area. But just follow the signs, like the one above, to get to Fotografiska.