CISTERNERNE

Deep below the green lawns of Søndermarken lies a secret, sprawling underground world. The darkness, coldness and dampness envelopes you as you venture into the huge 4,400 m² old water reservoir, reminiscent of long-forgotten cathedrals and gloomy catacombs. Cisternerne once contained the supply of drinking water for the Danish capital and could hold as much as 16 million liters of clean water. By 1933, the cisterns ceased their function as a reservoir for drinking water, and they were finally drained in 1981. Today, Cisternerne act as a spectacular setting for art exhibitions and events where the singularity of its architecture and atmosphere remains a core attraction.

In 2024, Cisternerne presents an extensive sound installation by artist Taryn Simon. Building everlasting recitations of loss, Start Again the Lament explores how we mourn individually and collectively, considering the anatomy of grief and who we choose to guide us through it. In the act of lament, discontent is publicly performed. Professional mourners are granted the authority and solicited by the bereaved to occupy, negotiate, and shape their loss. In a relentless replay, the lamentations of professional mourners are broadcasted into the reverberating space of Cisternerne. As sound and visiting bodies move through repeating archways, the installation merges darkness and light, absence and presence, singular loss, and its exponential multiplication. The public is pulled through Cisternerne by lamentations sonically pushing against its walls in cacophony and silence.

Opening hours: Tuesday-Wednesday 11-18, Thursday 11-20, Friday-Sunday 11-18. Monday closed.

Admission: Adult DKK 115, Students DKK 90, Children under 18 free.

Museum Pass for the Frederiksberg Museums (Cisternerne, Bakkehuset, STORM and Møstings) DKK 175