Ilja Karilampi. The Hunter in the Armchair
Book Presentation
“The Hunter in the Armchair” takes the form of a blog-cum-diary recorded by Swedish artist Ilja Karilampi (*1983, Göteborg) over a five-month residency in New York City. The novel comes together as a sort of mixtape – a series of uncensored events, outrageous adventures and blessings, where reality becomes the most zany sort of fiction. These are the firsthand experiences of Karilampi himself, set to a slick soundtrack of club bangers and house party anthems.
A foreigner's broken Euro-English lingo captures this window in time from a distinctive P.O.V. Ilja Karilampi’s work is a visual portrait of blog-entries that dive into the intoxicating pool of celebrity culture and VIP lifestyles, with a dash of the ghetto fabulous. Written up in his own mixed-up jargon, it is a hopeless quest for male cultural identity by a man lucky enough to get laid once in a while, but not so lucky to get a job. Leaving home to head out on the hunt for visions and experiences, it seems contemporary man is never satisfied. Art, sex, drugs, food or simply a walk around the block: all stimulants and pacifiers for the young, irresponsible and free. The point of it all lies somewhere between psychology, quantum physics and esoteric philosophy, while synchronicity can be used to describe the random, poetic circumstances that make up the scope of the everyday allure of New York City.
The author will read from his book.