Publications & Editions

27 Senses takes as the point of departure the life and work of seminal artist Kurt Schwitters (1887 - 1948), who spent many years in the area of Møre and Romsdal in Norway during his exile from Germany in the 1930s. Much of his time was spent on Hjertøya island near the town of Molde where he lived and worked in a summer hut, now named Schwitters Hütte - the only remaining intact Merz building still in situ. 27 Senses is the first contemporary art exhibition to solely engage with the time Schwitters spent in Norway. The project delves into this particular moment in the local history as the participating artists - Kenneth Goldsmith, Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Karl Holmqvist, Jutta Koether, Eline McGeorge - investigate the geopolitical conditions Schwitters had to navigate during these years. 27 Senses explores how certain ideas central to Schwitters' oeuvre are manifesting themselves today across visual arts, performance and sound based practices.

This publication features: texts written by the artists in response to an initial research trip to the region in 2007; extensive visual documentation of the exhibition at Kunstmuseet KUBE, 2009; art historical essays reflecting on Kurt SchwittersÕ time in Norway and his legacy in the country; rare archival photographs of Kurt Schwitters in Møre and Romsdal taken by his son Ernst.

"This intelligent exhibition was one of the first attempts to access [the Schwitters Hütte] and its legacy, drawing out historical, art-historical and mythical significance."
Melissa Gronlund, Afterall, 19 May 2009

"27 Senses was formally and conceptually ambitious, but also lyrical and almost melancholic. The most striking works captured the complex nature of remembrance."
Katie Kitamura, Frieze, Issue 126