TIDA OPNAR SEG
Seven cotton sculptures with embroidered letters. A combination of text and object made for ‘Recordare’, an art exhibition and concert in Volda Kyrkje. The church as a historic building and institution, accommodates time, rituals and is a place to visit during the great rites of life.
The embroidered texts are about time, human relationships and memories, and their form serve as an object for contemplation for the audience along the church pews. As a series they are visually more muted than my previous sculptures, as they were made to respond to the particular interior of the church. Due to Corona virus lockdown the event was cancelled and rescheduled for autumn 2020.
WHEN YOU HEAR IT, IT SPEAKS SLOWLY, TELLING YOU IT’S OKAY
SÍM Residency, Reykjavík, Iceland
2019
This project picks up the thread from previous projects conceived in Finnmark and Bergen, working with objects in landscapes, as a performative action, and as a research project.
In recent years I have traveled closely with my sculptures, often carrying them in my arms instead of stuffing them in a suitcase. This means being forced to consider them every step of the way. Time spent with the objects is important, as well as bringing them out of the ‘comfort’ of the white cube.
I arrived in Iceland wanting to create new objects. We could explore new landscapes together and share new experiences while getting to know each other better. But unexpected feelings arose. Visiting my mother's home country alone and for the first time in many years, I found myself lodged in-between being a tourist, an artist and my identity as part Icelandic. I could understand the language, but not form sentences of my own. I blended in with masses of tourists, hurrying through to the next awe-inspiring site. As a performance artist I am used to drawing attention to myself, but this time I felt odd, displaced as I carried my brightly coloured friends from the city scape to the mossy landscapes.
As I worked with the objects, visiting sites, hiking, or simply just by holding them in my hands, I felt as though I slowly landed. We watched the sunset one evening when I thought about the uncertainty of finally arriving somewhere you have dreamed of for so long, and how we needed to embrace this uncertainty instead of fearing to be ignorant.
In a time of confusion it is good to have a friend, after all.
Writing one scentence a day, in response to a daily forecast from the astrology-app Co-Star (a work still in process)
Presentation of the work in No Night for this Day
SÍM Galleri, Reykjavik, Iceland, July 2019
Snakes, Seals and Stones
Visningsrommet USF, 10-19.05.19
Sculptures and installations in various materials: textile, copper, steel, rice, polyester filling and pool noodles.
It turned out just the way she had envisioned. The shapes are open and the materials are soft. Yet a touch of doubt lingers. Was this what the fabric wanted to become? Was this the shape the fibers should be pushed into? As the creator one tries to keep control over the objects, but has to admit that this is an impossible task. The matter squirms away from rigid urges to be defined, and through the eye of the viewer transforms into something new every time it's encountered.
It's natural to ask what this is, this thing we are looking at, but there is no right or wrong answer. It's not always easy to know if one should pick the work apart, slowly and meticulously, to try to explain it all with big words and connections.
Try to forget the original thought, and keep in mind that there is not just one conventional understanding of what a shape can be. That the objects are first completed by memory – but sometimes they are just things in themselves. They sit there, minding their own business, before being interrupted and packed away.
Snakes, Seals and Stones is the result of two years in the studio for recent graduates at Kunstnerverksteder CS55 (2017-2019).
With support from Bergen Kommune
Photos: Andreas Dyrdal
Overview - Room I
Komposisjon nr 1
2018
Stretch velour, printed polyester, printed furniture velour, tufted cotton mat, metallic polyester knit, poly-fill
Transitional object nr 1 2016
Faux fur, poly-fill, fishing line
Wavy Lines
2018
Wet-look polyester spandex, poly-fill
Overview - Room I
Snakes, Seals and Stones
2019
Faux fur, printed faux suede, rice, poly-fill
Folded Lines 1-3
2018
Metallic polyester lamé, printed polyester, sportstretch lycra honey, poly-fill, steel nails
Lycra Honey Knot
2018
Sportstretch lycra honey, pool noodle
Wavy Lines, Soft Metals
2019
Wet-look polyester spandex, poly-fill, chromed copper, rice
Fat Snake
2019
Printed polyester jersey, cotton interfacing, metallic polyester knit, poly-fill
Mimicking the cozy
2018
Faux fur, rice, chromed copper
Seal Knots
2018
Printed faux suede, poly-fill
Optimistic object on fat pillow
2019
Marble-printed velour, faux fur, floor pillow, poly-fill
Overview - Room I
Soft Snakes I
2019
Faux fur, metallic polyester lamé, rice, poly-fill
Soft Snakes II
2019
Faux fur, metallic polyester lamé, rice, poly-fill
Moss
2017
Multicoloured velour, poly-fill, steel
One Line, Crossing
2019
Printed polyester, cotton interfacing, metallic polyester knit, poly-fill
Overview - Room I
Overview - Room II
Reclining Stone
2019
Digital print on velour, velvet, poly-fill
Marble Knots
2019
Marble-printed velour, poly-fill
One line, moving slowly from one end to the other
2018
Polyester thread on bleached cotton
It Waits for Time to Slowly Crumble
2019
Printed faux suede, marble-printed velour, lycra honey sportsstrech, poly-fill, polyester wadding
Soft Metals
2018
Steel, metallic polyester lamé, poly-fill
Soft Metals
2019
Chromed copper, lycra honey sportstretch, poly-fill
Overview - Room II
Komposisjon nr 4
2019
Printed polyester, sequined fabric, faux fur, digital print on faux suede, metallic polyester knit, poly-fill, polyester wadding
Komposisjon nr 6 (Wavy Lines)
2019
Wet-look polyester spandex, poly-fill, chromed copper, marble-printed velour
Folded line 4
2018
metallic print on polyester,, cotton interfacing, polyfill, steel nails
Soft Line 1
2018
Faux fur, polyester thread
Wavy Lines
2019
Printed cotton, wet-look polyester spandex, lycra honey sportstretch, polyfill
Overview - Room II
Folded line 5-6
2018
Printed polyester, metallic polyester knit, cotton interfacing, poly-fill, steel nails
Ophidian
2018
2018
metallic print on polyeste
r, poly-fill
Phocoidea
2019
faux fur, poly-fill
Snake Knot
2018
Printed polyester, cotton interfacing, polyfill
Overview - Room II
Seal
2018
Minky fleece, poly-fill
WAVY LINES
Photo series
a study of objects in landscape
An exploration of contrast, between raw nature and a playful placement of unusual objects. The landscape is found between the Varangerfjord and the vast mountain plateaus of Finnmark. The time of year allows for warm, colourful sunsets, as it moves from the midnight sun to the dark times of the Arctic winter. This project is a part of a larger search, for a deeper understanding of these long, squirming objects.
Gjesteatelieret i Vadsø, 2018
