2nd ambition and instrument, 2000, mixed media installation

rasmus knud is the identification and code name of a union of artists in existence since 1992. Its purpose is that of a "social organism in interaction with the world" (its self-definition), one which in past projects has made social paradigms such as interaction, communication, identity, etc. a central theme. "We work with the continuing development of rasmus knud as a social organism in the context of art and in relation to reality. We deal with questions of human relationships and social commitment, individual and group identities, which become questions of right and wrong behaviours and responsibilities in between people." Many of their performance projects set in motion non-reversible, often violent situations which then become the bases for discussions of strategies of state-run repression and legislation. Based on group dynamics, mass phenomena and hysteria, their work demonstrates how a good sense of community and solidarity can turn into a menace for individual group members and innocent bystanders within a short period of time. At Manifesta 2nd ambition and instrument is a mixture of booklets, sound and video. Walls are covered with UO wallpaper - a repetitive presentation of the UO movie script - a fantastic narrative based on the practices and speculations of Jacques Tati, early 20th century radicals and rasmus knud. "Reduced to its simplest structure, UO consists of a number of drifts. A revolution made in the head, with a popular impulse. Stripped of the revolutionary rhetoric, drifting is much the same as idling with an entirely open mind, twisting things into shapes and forms they were never meant to be."