Markus Kåhre at the Liverpool Biennial

Finnish artist Markus Kåhre's new commission for the 2012 Liverpool Biennial transforms the first floor of a pub into hidden spaces with deceitful mirrors.

Markus Kåhre's UK debut discreetly transforms the upper floor of The Monro, a building that dates back to 1756 and presently functions as a gastro-pub. The Monro's private rooms are only occasionally opened for functions, and still retain their old features and decorations. These rooms will be transformed into four bedrooms, only two of which will be open to visitors. Within those rooms, concealed air-compressors spray hot and cold air, inducing the illusion of having been touched by invisible occupiers of the room. Looking into what appear to be normal mirrors, which are instead made of one-way glass, visitors will expect to see an exact reflection, but instead will view the hidden spaces, replica rooms in which there are subtle alterations, such as different lighting, objects moved out of position, and they themselves will be missing.

Kåhre was the winner of the Ars Fennica, Finnish Art Now prize, in 2008. His recent projects include a vast multichannel video-installation perfectly integrated within the exhibition space, based on Plato's Symposium dialogue, and the gigantic painting installation created for the Amos Andersson art museum that strips the site inside out and redesigns the space entirely.

Liverpool Biennial is the UK's biggest international festival of contemporary art, transforming the city into a public space in which to experience art. Liverpool Biennial's commissioning process builds relationships and networks between participating artists, arts professionals and organisations across the globe, celebrating cultural diversity and building international understanding. The participation of Markus Kåhre will present Finnish contemporary art to a wide audience, with Liverpool Biennial 2010 attracting over 600 000 visitors.

Markus Kåhre: No title
15 September – 25 November 2012
The Monro, 92 Duke Street, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 5AG

www.biennial.com