THE RED ROOM - CONFRONT YOUR FEAR

For the installation The Red Room – Confront Your Fear Jonna Pedersen has been inspired by erythrophobia – the fear of the color red. The installation invites the viewer into an intense yet homely universe. The space is filled with familiar everyday objects – teddy bears, furniture, textiles, images – all immersed in red. It is a place where comfort and unease coexist, creating a physical meeting with discomfort, vulnerability and the transgression of personal boundaries.

Jonna Pedersen has been inspired by the Danish artist Ovartaci's phobic relationship with red and his understanding of art as a self-healing space, as well as principles from exposure therapy. In psychology, exposure therapy is used to confront fear within safe and controlled settings, gradually dissolving the patterns that sustain anxiety. The installation functions in that same spirit as a self-healing environment – a space to sense, to challenge, and perhaps to overcome not only a fear of red, but also more personal boundaries.

The installation contains numerous subtle references to Ovartaci’s universe – his paradise bird, bed, patterns and animals, his use of readymades and recycled materials, his fascination with dolls and with China, and not least his unique technique of painting on both sides of a surface in order to preserve energy.
All these elements are woven into a red whole that insists on courage – the courage to see, to feel, and to be present in the encounter with color, and with oneself.

Materials: Carpet, door, chair, blanket, clothing, shoes, toys, tins, boxes, bed base, headboard, room divider, collages, fabric, LP record, books, DVDs, flower, vase, telephone, notice board, cushion, light, plastic cutlery, doormat, table with notepad, pen, clock, frame, Teddy bear, hanger installation Sirena
Dimensions: Diameter 270 x 270 cm
Year: 2025
Exhibition: PROvartaci – To Be Human, Museum Ovartaci, Denmark, 3 October 2025 – 31 January 2026

Excerpt from review at AarhusInside.dk

An entire room is bathed in intense red. Jonna Pedersen invites us into a safe, homely universe where color – and all that we fear – can be seen clearly and explored. The work feels like a breath amid what is difficult: a place where courage quietly grows.

— AarhusInside.dk, Christina Hazelden, journalist

Dansk tekst nedenfor.

I installationen Det røde rum – konfrontér din angst har Jonna Pedersen taget udgangspunkt i erytrofobi – angst for farven rød. Beskueren inviteres ind i et sanseligt og hjemligt totalrum, fyldt med genkendelige hverdagsobjekter – bamser, møbler, tekstiler, billeder – alt sammen badet i rødt. Farve, humor og hverdagsobjekter skaber et kropsligt møde med ubehag, sårbarhed og overskridelse af personlige grænser.

Værket er inspireret af kunstneren Ovartacis fobiske forhold til rød og hans forståelse af kunsten som et selvhelende rum, samt principper fra eksponeringsterapi.
Eksponeringsterapi bruges inden for psykologien til at konfrontere angsten i trygge og kontrollerede rammer for gradvist at opløse de mønstre, der opretholder frygten. Installationen fungerer i den ånd som et selvhelbredende rum – et sted, hvor man kan sanse, udfordre og måske overvinde ikke kun en frygt for farven rød, men også mere personlige grænser.

Installationen rummer en række subtile referencer til Ovartacis univers – hans paradisfugl, seng, mønstre og dyr, brugen af readymades og genbrugsmaterialer, fascinationen af dukker og af Kina – og ikke mindst hans særlige teknik med at male på begge sider af et lærred for at bevare energien.

Alt dette væves sammen i en rød helhed, der insisterer på mod: mod til at se, mod til at sanse, mod til at være i mødet med farven og med sig selv.

Materialer: Gulvtæppe, dør, stol, plaid, tøj, sko, legetøj, dåser, æsker, sengebund, sengegavl, rumdeler, collager, stof, LP-plade, bøger, DVD’er, blomst, vase, telefon, opslagstavle, pude, lys, plastikbestik, dørmåtte, bord med notesblok, kuglepen, ur, ramme, bamse, bøjleværket Sirena
Dimensioner: Diameter 270 x 270 cm
År: 2025
Udstilling: PROvartaci – At være menneske, Museum Ovartaci, Aarhus - 3. oktober 2025 – 31. januar 2026

Uddrag af anmeldelse på AarhusInside.dk, Christina Hazelden, journalist

Jonna Pedersen – Det røde rum – konfrontér din angst: Et helt rum er badet i intenst rødt. Jonna Pedersen inviterer os ind i et trygt, hjemligt univers, hvor farven og alt det, vi frygter, kan stå klart og udforskes. Værket føles som et åndedrag midt i det svære: et sted, hvor modet vokser stille.