A show in four acts with prologue and epilogue.

From April until December 2003, love and devotion is responsible of the exhibition programme of Vita kuben at the Operahouse of Norrland. During this time a show/performance will be built; piece by piece, artist by artist. An empty white cube, a room designed for art - Vita kuben - turns into a scene that gradually changes. Instead of starting off every new show re-creating the illusion of the cube as a neutral space, we want to consider the possibilities created by an additional process, lasting from April until December. The works of the artists, one added to the other, together builds a whole, and in December we will see the show's prologue, acts and epilogue simultaneously.

The inside of the invitation-card is one of 6 parts of the epilogue, which in OPERA plays an important role straight from the start. Peter Thörneby is putting together the poster exhibition How can I sleep with your voice in my head?, that is continuously evolving through the duration of the project. A show within the show, that reaches out to the outside of the secluded cube and simultaneously is visualized inside it.

April 26th, prologue by love and devotion: the cube is white. As programme-responsible for Vita kuben, love and devotion tries to position and take action concerning different aspects of the exhibition's form. To better understand the possibilities and limits of the white cube, we start off by making the cube a little whiter, and add a few more cubes to the room. Welcome to OPERA!

May 16th, 2003, act 1 by Malin Arnell: instructions in white A white wall. Text. The text works as a script. The visitor has the possibility of entering the act physically and to follow the instructions. Or just fantasize about what happens during the performance, such as it is described in the text. Malin Arnell is a graduate student at University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm, and one of the artists behind Konstakuten in Stockholm. She is also one of three members in HHS, High Heel Sisters (Malin Arnell, Karianne Stensland and Line S. Karlström).

September 13th, 2003, act 2 by Arthur Zmijewski: singing lesson 1: Singing lesson 1, 2001. Duration: 14 min. A choir composed of young people from the institute of Deaf-and-Dumb People in Warsaw sings a fragment of the Kyrie from the Polish Mass (1944) by Jan Maklakiewicz.

"In this holy place, in this holiest place, our voile rises to You and erupts as the sea roar from a deep abyss. O Christ, hear us! O Christ, listen to us!"

Conductor: Dariusz Lapinski, Organ: Maciej Krupa, Photography: Jedrzei Niestroj, Sound: Marcin Bocinski, Waldemar Kocik, Editing: Arthur Zmijewski, Michal Palkow, Production: Stowarzyszenie Promocji Kultury Polskiej im. Franciszka Ryxa (Fransiszek Ryx's Association for the promotion of Polish Culture). Arthus Zmijewski lives and works in Warzaw, Poland. 1990-95 studies at Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warzaw, 1999, Gerrit Rietweld Academie in Amsterdam. Selected group-shows: After the Wall. Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 1999. Manifesta 4, tadelisches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt/Main, 2002

October 10th, 2003, act 3 by Åke Arnerdal: Utopian Longing

November 6th, 2003, act 4 by Monica Bonvicini : belted through

love and devotion are happy to present a new work by Monica Bonvicini - belted through, made specially for Vita kuben, NorrlandsOperan, Umeå, 2003. We are specially proud to show this piece, since this is the first time Monica Bonvicini is shown in Sweden.

In her work, Monica Bonvicini deals with power-structures within art and architecture, claiming there are no neutral rooms. In a talk with Marit Pasche on Monica Bonvicini's exhibition at Oslo Kunsthall 2000, these issues were discussed.

MB: "My relation to the white cube is ambiguous. It is a love/hate relationship. The white cube is a typical example of male-dominated architecture but, it is also a strong room that I like. Lots of people claim that the white cube is about to die, but I don't think the concept of the white cube will die."

Monica Bonvicini have lived in Los Angeles for many years - a city that has embraced and set free spectacular architectural experiments. Since 1986 Monica Bonvicini is back in Berlin, that in similar ways has become the wet dream of architects in Europe.

Monica Bonvicini's straightforward and humorous approach to gender-aspects, mixed with a certain brutality in form, gives an exceptional twist when experiencing her works. In belted through at Vita kuben a chain with weights, made out of black male leather belts, penetrates the cube's floor. Hanging threatingly close to the restaurant situated below, the white cube demands attention from above.