Anna Odell b. 1973

Anna Odell’s first exhibition at the gallery, Rekonstruktion – Psyket, featuring video (1h 7min) and photography, marks Odell’s return to the gallery scene after the release of the acclaimed films The Reunion and X&Y over the past years. During the fall of 2023, Anna Odell has been an artist-in-residence at the Centre for Medical Humanities at the University of Uppsala, developing the new film now shown for the first time. 

In Rekonstruktion – Psyket, Odell continues to use her personal story to explore the structures in psychiatric care – a work related to her groundbreaking video work Unknown, woman 2009–349701 from 2009.The new video investigates the dynamics in psychiatric institutional care when the staff is facing complex social interactions between patient and caregiver. Having been suffering from mental illness in the 90s, the starting point is Odell’s experience of becoming pregnant with a member of the staff during hospitalisation. In the video work, interviews with hospital staff involved in Odell’s case are mixed with excerpts from medical records and a re-enactment by staff in psychiatric care.

Anna Odell’s investigative work pinpoints an institution facing ethical dilemmas. What are the consequences of crossing personal and professional boundaries for patients and carers, but also for the psychiatric institution in terms of professional responsibility and code of conduct? What is the limit of personal engagement when dealing with mental illness? In the intriguing and complex project Rekonstruktion – Psyket, Anna Odell is once again using her background and experience to highlight power structures as well as social and ethical questions in society. 

Anna Odell (b 1973 in Stockholm) holds MFAs from the University of Arts, Crafts and Design (2010) and the Royal Institute of Art (2012). Her film Unkown, woman 2009-349701 (2009), Odell’s graduation work at the University of Arts, Crafts and Design, is now part of the collection at Moderna Museet. Odell’s director’s debut came with The Reunion (2013), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was awarded the prestigious Critics’ Award FIPRESCI for Best Debut as well as Special Mention by FEDEORA, Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean. In Sweden, the film was awarded two Guldbagge Awards, Best Film and Best Screenplay. The film X & Y premiered in 2018. Solo exhibitions include Uppsala Art Museum (2 March–7 April 2024), Gothenburg Film Festival (2020), Skellefteå Konsthall (SE) and Hälsingland Museum (SE) (2016) and Kulturhuset, Stockholm (2015).