Tumble-humble-weed


Ásgerður Birna Björnsdóttir

Sýningarstjórar/ Curators: Megan Auður, Neele Marie Denker, Katrín Helga Guðmundsdóttir, Mirra Elísabet Valdísardóttir

English below:

Sýningin býður áhorfendanum upp á margar víddir sem kanna gagnvirka möguleika líkamlegra og stafrænna sviða með áherslu á sjónarhorn minninga. Með skynfærin í huga skoðum við hvernig útvíkkun inn í sýndarveruleika hefur áhrif á skynjun okkar af minningu. Hér sameinast listin tækninni, þróun sem er að færast í aukanna í okkar samtíma. Hefur nostalgía áhrif á hvernig við berum kennsl á efnislega hluti í heimi þar sem stafræn væðing er orðin mjög hröð? Ljósmyndir teknar á snjallsíma af verkinu mynda 3D skúlptúr og er hann sýndur með alþjóðlegum aðgangi í gegnum streymi. 3D prentuð útgáfa af skúlptúrnum verður til sýnins.

Í verkinu “Tumble-humble-weed” vinnur Birna með lifandi efni, kartöflur. Skúlptúrinn er afsteypa af tveimur kartöflum sem hafa hvor um sig spírað. Þær eru síðan settar í mót með sandi sem myndar hjúp utan um þær og þar á eftir er málmblöndu hellt í mótið sem myndar skúlptúrinn. Langur og mjór stilkur úr málm blöndunni myndast á milli kartaflanna og tengir þær. Það má sjá ummerki af mismunandi lögum þýðingar í verki Birnu í formi spíranna, svörtu sandkornunum og álinu. Kartöflurnar veltast áfram og spírunarferlið heldur áfram í nýjum efnislegum víddum. Með ljósmyndun, streymi á vefsíðu Artzine.is og með 3D prentun á verkinu verða til fleiri lög og kartöfluspíran heldur áfram að vaxa í nýjum efnislegum þýðingum.

Listamaðurinn:

Ásgerður Birna Björnsdóttir (f.1990) er sjálfstætt starfandi listamaður með aðsetur í Amsterdam og í Reykjavík. Hún útskrifaðist með B.A gráðu í myndlist frá Gerrit Rietveld Academy árið 2016. Verk hennar hafa verið sýnd til dæmis í Kling og Bang, Nýlistasafninu, Elswhere Museum og á Listasafni Reykjavíkur. Á. Birna hefur unnið með miðla eins og vídeó, skúlptúr og innsetningar.

Vefsíða listamanns: http://bbbirna.info/

Sýning þessi hlaut stuðning frá Lemmy bar og 3dverk.is

Sýningarstjórarnir  / The curators, mynd til vinstri/Image in the left: Neele Marie Denker, Katrín Helga Guðmundsdóttir, Mirra Elísabet Valdísardóttir, Megan Auður. Right image: with the instagram filter.

Installation view.

Birna questions the daily assumptions she herself is guilty of concerning her own engagement with the world and the forces around her. Translating them into almost light-hearted material interactions she tries to trace the outlines of the nature of things: where waves become solid, matter becomes thing, nature becomes man and facts become truth. Using and activating matter of various consistency she creates works that take place on a broad scale of materiality. Birna is especially drawn to that which seems to exist on the verge of perception; the intangible, invisible and indiscernible play an important role contrasted with the concrete, voluminous and seemingly more important. 

Multidimensional exhibition exploring the interactive realms of the physical and digital spheres in reference to our contemporary perspective of memory. With the senses in mind, we will inquire how expanding into the virtual domain affects our perception of memory, as art increasingly combines with technology. Does nostalgia influence or condition how we identify with material objects in the current climate of rapid digitalisation? Photogrammetry of the exhibited sculpture will be displayed with international access through streaming. At the exhibition there will be a 3D printed figure of the sculpture. 

In Birna ́s work “Tumble-humble-weed” the artist makes use of organic living material, potatoes. “Tumble-humble-weed” is a sculpture that is a casting of two potatoes that have each sprouted. The potatoes are placed in a two piece mold with sand that forms a coating around them. Melted metal is then poured into the mold to form the sculpture. The metal pouring channel becomes a conveyer of connectivity, resulting in a long and narrow stalk, bonding the two potatoes as if perceiving alternate layers within the same spectrum. The varying layers can be seen in Birna’s work in the shape of the spear, in the traces of the black grains of sand, and in the metal itself. The potato tumbles on and the sprouting process is continued in new material dimensions. With photogrammetry, live streaming on Artzine.is, and 3D printing of the work in situ, digital layers are added creating an aspect of hybridity to the physical artwork. Thus the work is in constant flux, adding new layers and the potato sprout continues to grow in new material translations. 

The artist:

Ásgerður Birna Björnsdóttir (b.1990) is a visual artist based in Amsterdam and Reykjavík. She graduated with a B.A. in fine arts from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 2016. Her works have been shown in Kling and Bang, Nýlistasafnið, Elswhere Museum and Listasafn Reykjavíkur. Á. Birna ́s work can be seen within mediums such as video, sculpture and installations for various settings and platforms.

Artist website: http://bbbirna.info/

Contact: birnulingur@gmail.com

Instagram: @b__i__r__n__a

Link to Instagram Filter: https://www.instagram.com/ar/1218807015320699/

The curators:

Megan Auður (b. Reykjavík, Iceland, 1994) is an interdisciplinary art worker and community organizer currently based in Iceland. Her works explore pervasive myths of neutrality, through creating frameworks for dialog and support. Megan holds a BA in Fine Arts from HKU University of the Arts Utrecht (2020) and is currently obtaining a MA in Fine Arts from LHÍ, Iceland University of the Arts. In her practice she has co-initiated various long-term collaborations – such as the initiative Tools for the Times (2019- ongoing), and the advocacy group AIVAG, Artists in Iceland Visa Action Group (2021-ongoing). Megan Auður has previously worked with The Living Art Museum, Basis Voor Actuele Kunst, Kunsthalle Wien, and the Impakt festival. She is currently a guest lecturer at HKU University of the Arts Utrecht. www.meganaudur.art

Neele Marie Denker (b. 1993, Germany) is a spatial strategist, independent curator, and exhibition designer focusing on collective projects in physical and digital space. As coordinator of collectives and initiatives, she works on connecting and network building with artists and designers. Her tools are performative and collaborative, formats that range from exhibitions and workshops to interventions, installations, and scenography. Neele holds a BFA in Scenography/Interior Design. She is a Master’s Student in the Department for Spatial Strategies at the Muthesius Academy in Kiel, Germany. Currently she studies abroad at the Iceland University of the Arts in the Curatorial Practice MA. www.neeledenker.de

Katrín Helga Guðmundsdóttir (b.1997) is a 3rd year student at Háskóli Íslands with a major in art history and theory and a minor in media studies. This Happy Hour exhibition is her first experience of curating.

Mirra Elísabet Valdísardóttir (b. Reykjavík, Iceland 1988) is an Art History and Theory student at the University of Iceland. She is currently working at the Reykjavík Art Museum group specialising in visitor information. She has previously interned at I8 Gallery and Studio Ólafur Eliasson as an exhibition docent and digital archive curator. Her passion lies in creative exhibition writing and collective curatorial practice.

This show was made possible with support from Lemmy bar and 3dverk.is