Ragnar Kjartansson’s Bonjour

While museums around the world are shuttered due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Apollo’s usual weekly pick of exhibition openings will be replaced by a selection of digital initiatives providing virtual access to art and culture.

Exploring the cyclic theory of time, the exhibition ‘AGAINandAGAINandAGAINand’ at MAMbo – Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna (which was scheduled to run until 3 May) presented works by seven contemporary artists including Susan Philipsz, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Ragnar Kjartansson. You can now watch Kjartansson’s contribution, Bonjour, which was first performed in 2015 and features two actors repeating the same five-minute vignette on a loop for 12 hours a day, online. The museum has uploaded six two-hour videos – originally streamed live – on its YouTube channel, documenting the performance across several days. A fittingly absurd experience. Read more about the MAMbo exhibition on the institution’s website and watch the videos on YouTube.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here

Bonjour (2015), Ragnar Kjartansson. Installation view at MAMbo – Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, 2020. Photo: Gabriele Lepri; courtesy the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York, and i8 Gallery, Reykjavik

Bonjour (2015), Ragnar Kjartansson. Installation view at MAMbo – Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, 2020. Photo: Gabriele Lepri; courtesy the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York, and i8 Gallery, Reykjavik

Screenshot of Bonjour (2015) by Ragnar Kjartansson performed at MAMbo and streamed live on 27 February 2020 on the museum’s YouTube channel