Viktor Mattsson: Thanks For Laughing
Weserhalle, Berlin, Germany, 2022

“A cowboy, a clown and a devil meet in a snowy forest” No one would blame you if you think this is the beginning of a joke. However, it isn’t. Rather, it is a very short description of the setting and characters in Viktor Mattson's first solo show in Weserhalle titled Thanks for laughing. Upon entering the exhibition you are welcomed by these three protagonists; a cowboy seemingly being ambushed by a clown and a devil, all of which are depicted in the painting A Very Bad Day. Perhaps a bunch of questions comes to mind: Why are they naked? Why are they in a pine forest? What the hell is going on?