Kirsten Astrup
1983, The School of Language, Space and Scale Skolen for Sprog, Rum og Skala www.kirstenastrup.com
TROE OG AGTSOM (Faithful and Diligent)
HD Video 24:45 min.
Kirsten Astrup’s video work was created for and in the Central Post Building located opposite the Copenhagen Central Station. Built to serve as the headquarters of the Danish postal service in 1912, it stands as an architectural symbol of the era’s faith in the future, communication and modern civilisation. Today the building is empty; it was recently sold and will soon be transformed into a luxury hotel.
Based on research into the history and architecture of the building, the work comprises a series of tableaux, each associated with a musical score composed by the artist. In the film we are introduced to a range of queer postal workers and their managers: a lesbian couple with something of a crush on postal worker Atlanta Longlegs.
The film touches on themes such as working conditions, gentrification, privilege, gender identity, and the end of the welfare state. In terms of genre it occupies a field somewhere between cabaret, TV drama, a Christmas series and a musical requiem.
TROE OG AGTSOM (Faithful and Diligent) is the old official motto of the Danish postal service that has been used since the days of absolute monarchy.
The cast includes mezzo soprano Nana Bugge Rasmussen and actor Danica Curcic.
Large parts of the text featured in the film were written by Maria Bordorff.
