Ragnar Persson's Totems

A small version of Ragnar's 16-metre piece that is part of the Totems exhibition.

One of our favourite artists and contributors of all times, Ragnar Persson, is exhibiting new work in the basement of Stockholm-venue Berns as part of Stockholm Art Week. The exhibition is called Totems and is opening tonight. Considering that Berns's basement, Gallery 2.35:1, is the home to one of Stockholm's sweatiest legal techno-dancefloors and Ragnar is a son of metal, it sounds like a once in a lifetime match. I called him up prior the opening to get a better idea of what's going on.

VICE: So Totems. Tell me about this exhibition.
Ragnar Persson: Totems comes from the totem pole, or more shaman characters. Lately, I've been listening a lot to the soundtrack of Cannibal Holocaust by Riz Ortolani. I got this thought – or image – in front of me: When you stand in front of an entrance to the jungle where there are plenty of totem poles and stuff like that. Or, I don't really have a clear idea, but hopefully you get it.

I think I do.
Well the drawing you have in front of you [the one above] shows a little bit less than a third of the entire thing. The real one is something like 16 metres wide.

Wow.
But do you get what I mean when the idea is that you're standing on the edge of the jungle and looking at this and thinking "what the hell is all this?" Animal heads, masks, and stuff like that. You know, so you have to consider whether you should enter or not.

"Cannibal Holocaus (Main Theme)", which sounds a bit different from the usual Gallery 2.35:1 music.

I get it. Last time we spoke – which was about a year ago – you had a thing for plants.
Yeah, it's still do a lot of things like that. I've added animal heads now, though.

There are plenty of faces – can I say faces about animal heads?
No, or, totems can also be a symbol. Such as native Americans might have a totem animal that is like the animal of the soul. There are different animal heads because they symbolise your soul's shaman. So you could think about it as if there are loads of soul-shamans around, there are loads of people who belong to them somewhere behind. But I don't really have a clear idea, I just got into all that when I listened to the record, which is really awesome.

Do you know what your own shaman animal is?
No, actually I don't. I don't want to know because I'm scared about what it could be. I mean you want to have a cool animal – a wolf or something. And I'm thinking that maybe I'm not that cool, so I might just end up having a turtle. I didn't bother to find out because I like to imagine that I have a wolverine – something cool. But I'd like to add that a totem can be a plant as well, and I think it's more likely that my totem is a plant.

So what's your dream plant?
Probably a poison ivy, or maybe a holly, which is an old and poisonous fucking plant that people use in rituals and stuff.

I love that kind of shit, too. But tell me, why are you exhibiting at Berns? I'm surprised.
Because this is a collaboration with Steinsland Berliner and Berns asked me. I thought it could be fun. It was on a pretty short notice, though. I wanted to make one drawing that would cover the entire place. There are six or seven other drawings other than this 16-metre one. It would have been fun to make one piece instead. You have to think about that it's a nightclub. I like the idea of people getting drunk and leaning against the wall. It's an environment where no one cares.

I find it really interesting because it's an entirely different approach in that basement compared to a white, light room.
People are there to make out, drink booze and take drugs and listen to music or whatever it is that people do. I think it's fun to exhibit work to people who might not even care, or maybe people do care, but a nightclub isn't the typical place where people go to view art. It looks fun as well because they have these small cocktail tables that are stuck to the wall or something. One table is situated in the middle of the head of an animal so it looks really nice. I like it. You know, maybe somebody will stand there with a drink in their hands while someone is staring at you from the wall.

**Considering that music is pretty important to you, *do you have anything to do with the music in the club? During the opening perhaps?***
Not at all. As far as I know they will be playing some kind of Berghain-styled music, which I think can work out in awesome ways.

With you being a boy of metal, maybe it will be pretty inspiring to see your work in a techno environment?
Definitely. I think it can be awesome. I think that both techno and metal work in the same primal way. I don't listen to techno at home, but if I go out on a club I think it can work out fine. I mean, it's hard and I like that monotonous vibe it has.

Me too. Thanks, Ragnar!

Ragnar Persson's Totems opens tonight at Berns Gallery 2.35:1, Stockholm, and runs until June 15, 2014.