In the middle of the 19th century, English writer Coventry Patmore wrote the poem "The Angel in the House", as a tribute to the perfect Victorian woman. Today, Misschiefs kills the angel with the installation FINE DYING, an ironic nod to the notion of fine dining.
“The Angel in the House” was based on Patmore’s first wife, whom he saw as the perfect woman: a graceful hostess and the quiet, modest protector of the home. In her 1931 essay “Professions for Women”, Virginia Woolf describes how she had to kill this angel. Creation involves sacrifice.
Six womxn designers was invited by Misschiefs to participate in the FINE DYING collection based on Woolf’s words and the idea of Fine Dining. Isa Andersson, ButchXFemme, Lotta Lampa, Anna Nordström, Maria Pita Guerreiro and Sara Szyber have each created unique gothic, punk, flamboyant objects and artefacts that are arranged on a long dinner table. The chic, extravagant atmosphere that initially emanates from it is soon belied by the sharp knives, the blood and the lurking violence.
In the context of Paris Design Week, the Institut suédois is welcoming this evolving installation, which was first shown in Stockholm and then in Milan, with the additional participation of the multi-disciplinary French artist Popline Fichot. In addition, Misschiefs have invited the Norwegian artist Yngvild Saeter and the Swedish artist Klara Fahrman to present their work next to the blood-streaked table.
Curator: Paola Bjäringer
Set Designer: Minna Palmqvist
Artists et designers: Isa Andersson, ButchXFemme, Klara Fahrman, Popline Fichot, Lotta Lampa, Anna Nordström, Maria Pita Guerreiro, Yngvild Saeter and Sara Szyber
In collaboration with Paris Design Week and with support from the Swedish Embassy in France
