Mountain Shopping is a painting in Kørner’s most recent series, which addresses the global transport of goods, global trade and the consumer society. It appears to raise the key question of what is the real price of being able to buy exotic little slices of the entire world in our local supermarket?
A parallel universe
The painting shows a long, colourful supermarket aisle, where a female nude lies stretched out in a cooler. Behind her is a snow-capped mountain range. The image is framed by Kørner’s characteristic ‘problems’, manifested as oval forms in long, multi-coloured ribbons. The problems are numerous. The supermarket seems to constitute a seductive parallel universe, completely detached from time and place. There are ripe oranges from Spain, bananas from South America and water melons from the Mediterranean. In this particular painting, however, the items we normally find in the cooler have been replaced by a female nude. Here, Kørner’s criticism of the practice of transporting products on large container ships over huge distances is linked with an issue he has previously addressed, namely the trafficking of women.
An ugly story
Kørner paints a scene that is both real and profoundly absurd. It reflects our daily shopping situation, where the consumer’s wildest dreams are always available and within reach. Fresh fruits and vegetables are lined up in abundance. But there is an ugly story behind the wide selection: underpaid workers and the global transport of goods, which has a devastating climate footprint. The painting springs from a visit Kørner made to Skagen, the northern-most tip of the Jutland peninsula, in the summer of 2020. Standing on the sea shore, he could see the huge container ships that daily deliver products from all over the world to Danish supermarkets.
In many regards, the piece refers to Kørner’s practice overall. It relates to several of the topics he has addressed over the years: problems, represented by the ovals; trafficking of women; mountain landscapes; and bright colours.
About John Kørner
John Kørner (b. 1967) graduated from the Royal Danish Academy in 1998. His work often deals with urgent current issues, such as refugees, fallen soldiers in Afghanistan or human trafficking. A recurring feature in Kørner’s work is the oval ‘problems’, big and small, portrayed on the canvas or shaped in ceramic. He has held solo exhibitions in galleries and museums in Denmark and abroad. His work is represented in a number of museums, including ARoS, Centre National des Arts (CNAP), Arken, SMK - National Gallery of Denmark and Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg.
