Jennifer Petterson (1974, Flädie) graduated from the Rietveld Academy in 2002. Her graduation piece, the video Electric Himalaya, will now be shown in The Bakery. Because the space in which the video is shown forms an integral part of the work, the smaller and lower Bakery creates a different experience in comparison to the larger one which she had at her disposal during her graduation show. It is precisely this difference which is of interest to Petterson; the different interiors which she filmed for Electric Himalaya using a slowly revolving camera, are projected onto the walls of The Bakery in a slowly rotating manner. The merging of the filmed interior with the real interior, for example - an overlapping of a filmed light switch with a real one,- differs surprisingly from space to space.
Electric Himalaya refers to an electric air freshner that produces a scent of the Himalaya mountains when placed into an electric socket. The effect this fragrance has on people is shown in the film. Everything seems to slow down, and this, in combination with the deliberate tempo in which Petterson portrays the interiors results in an engaging contrast to the high speed of commercial television. The measured care she takes in filming interiors also lay bare her use of an alternate language. Electric Himalaya clearly communicates the extent to which our identity is related to our interiors and correspondingly how interiors can form a portrayal of ourselves. Petterson displays the absurdity and beauty of this.
