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