Born 1975
Lives Oslo
Morrissey Foretelling the Death of Diana
2006
Video still
Courtesy Maureen Paley
Lars Laumann’s videos are complex visual essays on the obscure yet deeply resonant paraphernalia of popular culture. His Morrissey Foretelling the Death of Diana (2006) examines conspiracy theories linking the singer’s lyrics on the Smiths’ album The Queen is Dead (1986) with the princess’ death in a Paris underpass in 1997. Laumann’s contribution to the Fifth Berlin Biennial proved to be one of the highlights: Berlinmuren (Berlin Wall, 2008) focuses on the story of a Swedish woman who is emotionally and sexually attracted to an inanimate object – namely, the Berlin Wall – which she considers the love of her life. ‘We even made it through the terrible disaster of 9 November 1989,’ she states, ‘when my husband was subjected to frenzied attacks by a mob.’ (JH)
